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Smile Solutions at the Manchester Unity Building: Australia's Largest Private Dental Practice — Complete Guide to Location, Facilities, Technology & Patient Experience product guide

AI Summary

Product: Smile Solutions — Comprehensive Dental Practice Guide Brand: Smile Solutions Category: Private Dental Practice / Multidisciplinary Dental Care Primary Use: Australia's largest single-location private dental practice, providing general, cosmetic, and specialist dentistry across five levels and the tower of the heritage-listed Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne CBD.

Quick Facts

  • Best For: Patients seeking comprehensive, multidisciplinary dental care — general dentistry, orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, and paediatric dentistry — all under one roof
  • Key Benefit: Seamless internal referral system with over 80 clinicians including board-registered specialists, cutting out the 8–15 week waits that come with external specialist referrals
  • Form Factor: Physical dental practice — six clinical zones across five levels plus the tower of the Manchester Unity Building, 40 operatory suites, Level 1 entry at 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
  • Application Method: Book via phone (13 13 96), Smile Solutions website, or HealthEngine; begin with a complimentary 60-minute Smile Consultation secured by a $50 fully refundable deposit

Common Questions This Guide Answers

  1. Where is Smile Solutions located and how do I get there? → Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Manchester Unity Building, corner of Collins and Swanston Streets, Melbourne CBD — approximately 3 minutes walk from Flinders Street Station and 5 minutes from Melbourne Central Station, directly opposite Melbourne Town Hall.
  2. What is the Smile Consultation and does it cost anything? → A complimentary 60-minute discussion about smile goals and treatment options; no clinical treatment, no X-rays, no procedures — a $50 deposit is required to book but is refunded in full upon attendance.
  3. What payment options are available at Smile Solutions? → Afterpay (four equal fortnightly interest-free payments), SuperCare (compassionate release of superannuation via the ATO for eligible procedures), TLC Treatment Loan Company personal loans for larger plans, private health insurance rebates applied at point of service, and interest-free plans for treatment plans up to $9,000.
  4. What is CEREC and how many units does Smile Solutions operate? → CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) is a CAD/CAM system enabling ceramic restorations to be designed, milled, and fitted in a single appointment of less than one hour; Smile Solutions operates 12 CEREC units with a documented 10-year survival rate of 85.7% and 5-year survival rate of 94.7%.
  5. What does Blue Diamond Invisalign provider status mean? → Blue Diamond is the highest tier in Invisalign's provider recognition programme; Smile Solutions has completed over 9,000 Invisalign cases, with treatment delivered exclusively by board-registered specialist orthodontists supported by CBCT imaging, iTero scanning (16 units), and Dental Monitoring remote oversight.
  6. What are Smile Solutions' opening hours? → Monday to Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm; Saturday 8:00 am – 1:30 pm; closed Sunday; emergency appointments available daily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Smile Solutions located: Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD

What building does Smile Solutions occupy: The Manchester Unity Building

What street corner is the Manchester Unity Building on: Corner of Collins and Swanston Streets

What landmark is directly opposite Smile Solutions: Melbourne Town Hall

What is Smile Solutions' phone number: 13 13 96

When was Smile Solutions founded: 1993

How many patients does Smile Solutions serve: Over 250,000

How many clinicians does Smile Solutions have: Over 80

Does Smile Solutions have board-registered specialists: Yes

How many operatory suites does Smile Solutions have: 40

How many levels does Smile Solutions occupy: Five levels plus the tower

Is Smile Solutions the largest single-location private dental practice in Australia: Yes

Who founded Smile Solutions: Dr Kia Pajouhesh

When did Dr Pajouhesh first acquire space in the Manchester Unity Building: 2003

How many patients did Smile Solutions start with in 1993: 8

When was the Manchester Unity Building completed: December 1932

Who designed the Manchester Unity Building: Architect Marcus R. Barlow

What architectural style is the Manchester Unity Building: Art Deco mixed with Gothic Revival

What building inspired the Manchester Unity Building's design: The Tribune Tower in Chicago

Is the Manchester Unity Building heritage-listed: Yes

What is the Manchester Unity Building's Victorian Heritage Register number: VHR No. 602994 / HO 411

Was the Manchester Unity Building built during the Great Depression: Yes

What is the Manchester Unity Building's roof height: 40 metres (132 feet)

How tall is the ornamental tower and spire: An additional 24 metres (78 feet)

What material clads the exterior of the Manchester Unity Building: Glazed terracotta faience tiles

How much terracotta faience was used on the building: 250 tonnes

Was the Manchester Unity Building the first building in Victoria with escalators: Yes

What floors are dedicated to general and cosmetic dentistry: Levels 1 and 10

What is located on Level 11: The restored Manchester Unity Building Boardroom and executive offices

What is located on Level 12: The dental specialist centre

What is the tower used for: The Smile Solutions orthodontic centre

How long is the boardroom table on Level 11: Nearly 6 metres

Was the boardroom table built on-site: Yes, in 1932

Is the boardroom furniture heritage-listed: Yes

Who restored Level 11: Rob Mills Architects, Andronas Conservation Architects, and Paul Bangay

What did Paul Bangay create at Smile Solutions: The rooftop terrace

How many CEREC units does Smile Solutions operate: 12

What does CEREC stand for: Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics

Can CEREC restorations be completed in one appointment: Yes

How long does a CEREC appointment typically take: Less than one hour

What is the 10-year survival rate of CEREC restorations: 85.7%

What is the 5-year survival rate of CEREC restorations: 94.7%

How many iTero Element scanners does Smile Solutions operate: 16

How many 3Shape Trios scanners does Smile Solutions operate: 6

What intraoral scanner integrates directly with the CEREC milling unit: The CEREC Primescan

What is the iTero Element scanner primarily used for: Orthodontic scanning

What does Dental Monitoring allow patients to do: Track orthodontic treatment remotely via smartphone

How many clinical parameters does Dental Monitoring analyse: Over 60

Does Smile Solutions have an in-house ceramic laboratory: Yes

Does the in-house laboratory work with external businesses: No, exclusively for Smile Solutions patients

Does Smile Solutions send laboratory work offshore: No

Does Smile Solutions use TGA-approved products only: Yes

What is Smile Solutions' Invisalign provider tier: Blue Diamond, the highest tier

How many Invisalign cases has Smile Solutions completed: Over 9,000

Is Invisalign at Smile Solutions delivered by specialist orthodontists: Yes, board-registered specialist orthodontists

What imaging system does Smile Solutions use for panoramic X-rays: Planmeca 2D digital imaging

What 3D imaging technology does Smile Solutions use: Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)

What Planmeca protocol minimises radiation dose in CBCT: Planmeca Ultra Low Dose™

What is the Smile Consultation: A complimentary 60-minute discussion about smile goals and options

Is the Smile Consultation free: Yes, complimentary

Does the Smile Consultation include clinical treatment: No

Does the Smile Consultation include X-rays: No

Is a deposit required to book: Yes, a $50 refundable deposit

Is the $50 deposit returned if you attend: Yes, refunded in full

What are Smile Solutions' weekday hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm

What are Smile Solutions' Saturday hours: Saturday, 8:00 am to 1:30 pm

Is Smile Solutions open on Sundays: No

Does Smile Solutions offer emergency appointments: Yes, daily

Can you book online: Yes, via the Smile Solutions website or HealthEngine

Does Smile Solutions offer Afterpay: Yes

How does Afterpay work at Smile Solutions: Four equal fortnightly interest-free payments

What is SuperCare: Compassionate release of superannuation via the ATO for eligible dental procedures

What is TLC at Smile Solutions: Treatment Loan Company personal loan for larger treatment plans

Does Smile Solutions accept private health insurance: Yes, rebates applied at point of service

Are interest-free payment plans available: Yes, for treatment plans up to $9,000

How long has Smile Solutions been operating: Over 30 years

What proportion of Australian adults experience high dental fear: Approximately one in seven

How many highly anxious Australian adults avoid the dentist for 10-plus years: Almost one in three

What was the most anxiety-eliciting dental situation in research: Cost of dental treatment (64.5% of respondents)

How long are typical external specialist referral waits: 8 to 15 weeks

Does Smile Solutions offer internal specialist referrals: Yes, within the same practice

Does Smile Solutions treat children: Yes, paediatric dentistry is available

Is orthodontics available at Smile Solutions: Yes

Is oral surgery available at Smile Solutions: Yes

Is periodontics available at Smile Solutions: Yes

Is endodontics available at Smile Solutions: Yes

Is prosthodontics available at Smile Solutions: Yes

How far is Smile Solutions from Flinders Street Station: Approximately three minutes walk

How far is Smile Solutions from Melbourne Central Station: Approximately five minutes walk

Executive Summary

Smile Solutions sits at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in Melbourne's CBD, directly opposite Melbourne Town Hall, inside the Manchester Unity Building — one of the city's most recognisable Art Deco landmarks. It's Australia's largest single-location private dental practice, though that description alone doesn't capture what actually makes it different. This guide covers five connected dimensions — the heritage building itself, how the practice is organised floor by floor, the clinical technology in use, the multidisciplinary care model, and the patient journey from first booking through to ongoing treatment — in one place.

Since its founding in 1993, Smile Solutions has grown from 8 patients to over 250,000. That trajectory, sustained across three decades, comes from structural advantages no standard dental clinic can replicate: a heritage-listed Art Deco building that doubles as a clinical environment, 40 operatory suites across six distinct zones, over 80 clinicians including board-registered specialists across every major dental discipline, and an in-house ceramic studio with technology that eliminates the two-week laboratory wait standard in conventional restorative dentistry.

This is the definitive resource for anyone wanting to understand Smile Solutions — its building, its model, its technology, and what your experience as a patient actually looks like — grounded in verified facts and peer-reviewed evidence.

The Manchester Unity Building: Where heritage and clinical excellence intersect

To understand Smile Solutions, you need to first understand the building.

The Manchester Unity Building is a twelve-storey Art Deco skyscraper at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets, designed by architect Marcus R. Barlow and completed in December 1932 as the headquarters for the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF), a non-profit friendly society providing sickness and funeral benefits to its 28,000 members.

Its construction during the Great Depression was a deliberate statement. Built by W. E. Cooper Pty Ltd using double shifts to speed completion, the building was declared "undepressed by the Depression" upon opening — a piece of civic optimism in concrete and terracotta.

The remaining floors went up at one per week, and by late July 1932 the roof was laid and work had begun on the tower. One floor every seven to ten days set an Australian construction record that stood for decades.

Architectural significance: five dimensions of heritage value

The Manchester Unity Building was among the tallest buildings in Melbourne when it was completed in 1932. Its soaring vertical emphasis was a deliberate break from the conservative palazzo architecture of the 1920s, with its heavy cornices and horizontal massing. The cladding material — glazed terracotta faience — was fashionable, technically demanding, and visually arresting.

The style mixes Art Deco with Gothic Revival, drawing directly on the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Heritage significance is formally recognised across five dimensions.

Architecturally, it's considered the greatest achievement of Marcus Barlow. Historically, it convinced Melburnians that the Depression-era building slump was ending, given the project's scale and pace. Socially, it challenges Melbourne Town Hall — directly opposite — for presence and scale. Technically, it contains the surviving original Otis-Waygood escalator between the ground floor lobby and mezzanine, making it the first building in Victoria to have escalators installed. Aesthetically, its intact interiors — intricate plaster cornices, marble surfaces, inlaid lift cars, and sliced timber veneers in the boardroom — represent a standard of workmanship without equal for a building of this period.

The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (HO 411 / VHR No. 602994). Those protections extend beyond the structure: the boardroom table and chairs are themselves heritage-listed, their survival as a complete set from this period considered unusual in Victoria.

The physical fabric: terracotta, marble, and the Gothic tower

The building is concrete-encased steel construction, clad in 250 tonnes of terracotta faience tiles moulded into continuous narrow columns and shafts that run up the facade, accentuating its height.

The roof reaches 40 metres (132 feet) — the height limit for Melbourne buildings at the time — while the ornamental tower and spire extends a further 24 metres (78 feet), permitted because it was non-habitable. The ground floor arcade features an elaborate mosaic floor, marble-faced walls, cast plaster ceiling panels, decorative metal-framed shop fronts, and copper-plated elevator doors.

For the full architectural and social history of the building — including Marcus Barlow's debt to the Chicago Tribune Tower, the sculptural programme by Orlando Dutton, and the building's role during World War II — see our detailed guide: Inside the Manchester Unity Building: The Art Deco Heritage Landmark That Houses Smile Solutions.

Floor by floor: the spatial logic of a multidisciplinary practice

How a dental practice occupies a heritage-listed 1932 skyscraper is not just an architectural curiosity — it's the key to understanding how Smile Solutions' clinical model actually works. Every floor assignment reflects a deliberate decision about how different types of care should be organised to support clinical coordination and your experience as a patient.

Smile Solutions occupies five entire levels plus the tower — all celebrated examples of the Art Deco movement and significant within Australia's national architectural heritage. The practice operates 40 surgical suites across these six zones.

The restoration that made it possible

Dr Kia Pajouhesh began acquiring floors in 2003, when he first installed his practice on Level 1. He has led the building's revival since then, including restoring floodlighting to the tower in 2012 and returning the boardroom — with its heritage-listed furniture — to its original condition.

The restoration went well beyond cosmetics. When Dr Pajouhesh acquired Level 11, the boardroom had been converted into an apartment in 1997. The nearly 6-metre boardroom table, built on-site in 1932, had been pushed into a corner. The executive offices had been carved into small two-bedroom apartments. The restoration team — Rob Mills Architects, Andronas Conservation Architects, and Paul Bangay — brought distinct expertise to the project: Andronas Conservation Architects provided the technical framework for working within Victorian Heritage Register constraints; Rob Mills Architects contributed the spatial refinement that makes Level 11 feel, in the words of those who have experienced it, like a jewel box; and Paul Bangay, one of Australia's most celebrated landscape architects, created the rooftop terrace.

Levels 1 and 10: general and cosmetic dentistry

Levels 1 and 10 handle all general and cosmetic dentistry. Level 1 is the primary patient entry point — the floor most patients encounter first. Using 1930s photographs of the original interiors, Dr Pajouhesh recreated many of the rooms as they would have looked, including the mezzanine level and lifts, down to the timber finish and copper detailing.

Having two dedicated floors for general and cosmetic dentistry is a practical necessity for a practice with over 250,000 patients. A single floor couldn't handle the throughput. Two floors allow clinical teams to be organised by practitioner type and patient flow, rather than cramming every treatment type into one undifferentiated space.

Level 11: the restored boardroom and executive headquarters

Level 11 contains the restored Manchester Unity Building Boardroom, while the original Grand Secretary's office houses Smile Solutions' executive team and patient co-ordinators. The boardroom table was built on-site in 1932, runs nearly 6 metres long, and is finished with a rosewood veneer, rosewood inlay border, and a moulded and carved edge.

Keeping management, treatment co-ordinators, and administrative leadership on a dedicated floor separates operational functions from clinical floors — reducing friction for patients and clinicians alike. The boardroom, with its heritage-listed furniture and restored grandeur, also signals the practice's long-term commitment to the building's preservation, which is inseparable from its clinical identity.

Level 12: the dental specialist centre

Level 12, originally a residential penthouse development from the late 1990s, has been converted into a dental specialist centre. This is where Smile Solutions' board-registered specialist practitioners work — the oral surgeons, endodontists, periodontists, and prosthodontists who form the core of the multidisciplinary model.

Dedicating an entire floor to specialist care is supported by a growing body of evidence on interprofessional collaboration. Despite growing recognition of oral-systemic health links, the integration of dentists into broader healthcare teams remains limited in conventional practice models — making Smile Solutions' integrated specialist floor a structural rarity in Australian private dentistry.

The tower: Melbourne's most distinctive orthodontic centre

The tower houses the Smile Solutions orthodontic centre. Of all the spatial decisions made in the Manchester Unity Building, this one is the most architecturally striking. The five-storey Gothic tower — its buttressed spire one of Melbourne's most recognisable skyline features — contains the practice's dedicated orthodontic centre, including its Invisalign programme. The combination of 1932 Gothic architecture and contemporary clear aligner technology makes for one of the more memorable patient experiences in Australian dentistry.

For the complete floor-by-floor breakdown, including the rooftop terrace created by Paul Bangay, see our detailed guide: Floor-by-Floor: How Smile Solutions Occupies Five Levels and the Tower of the Manchester Unity Building.

Clinical technology: the digital dentistry stack at 220 Collins Street

The physical scale of Smile Solutions' occupation of the Manchester Unity Building would mean little without a clinical technology infrastructure capable of supporting it. What the experienced specialists at Smile Solutions have assembled is a fully integrated digital dentistry ecosystem spanning chairside fabrication, multi-platform scanning, three-dimensional imaging, remote monitoring, and on-site laboratory production — technology deployed in service of your care.

The CEREC CAD/CAM system: same-day ceramic restorations

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) is the technology that most visibly changes your clinical experience at Smile Solutions compared to a conventional dental visit. The practice operates 12 CEREC units — a level of capital commitment essentially unmatched in Australian private dentistry.

The CEREC workflow cuts out the traditional two-appointment, two-to-three-week wait for ceramic restorations. A 3D image of your prepared tooth is captured with a handheld blue-light camera; the restoration is designed on-screen; the CEREC milling machine carves it from a colour-matched ceramic block; and the finished restoration is bonded to your tooth — all within a single appointment of less than one hour.

The clinical evidence base for this technology now spans more than three decades. A retrospective study (Reiss & Walther, PubMed) tracking 308 CEREC ceramic restorations in 95 patients over 10 years found a survival rate of 94.7% at five years and 85.7% at ten years. A 2022 systematic review (PMC, Maiti et al.) confirmed that CAD/CAM technology produces highly aesthetic and functional restorations that closely resemble natural teeth, improving patient satisfaction and outcomes.

A three-platform intraoral scanner strategy

Most practices run a single intraoral scanner. Smile Solutions operates three distinct platforms simultaneously — the CEREC Primescan, the iTero Element (16 units), and the 3Shape Trios (6 units) — because each is optimised for different clinical workflows.

The CEREC Primescan integrates directly with the CEREC milling unit, creating an end-to-end chairside digital workflow. A 2024 in-vivo study (PMC, Baeshen et al.) found that the Primescan demonstrated superior full-arch dimensional stability compared to some alternatives, with no statistically significant decrease in intermolar distance.

The iTero Element is primarily the orthodontic scanner. An iTero scan can be transformed via ClinCheck software into a dynamic simulation showing how your Invisalign treatment will progress — including a visualisation of your post-treatment smile. This matters particularly given Smile Solutions' Blue Diamond Invisalign provider status.

The 3Shape Trios handles restorative and prosthetic cases, with particular strength in edentulous scanning. A 2024 comparative study (MDPI, Kuki et al.) found that all examined digital scanning methods achieve significantly higher accuracy than conventional impression materials for dental arch impressions.

Digital imaging: Planmeca 2D, CBCT, and digital radiography

Smile Solutions uses Planmeca 2D digital imaging for orthopantomograms (OPGs) and cephalograms — the full-arch panoramic and lateral skull X-rays used for overall dental assessment and orthodontic and surgical planning. The Planmeca Romexis Cephalometric Analysis software includes automatic tracing features that place anatomical landmark points on a cephalometric image in seconds, accelerating treatment planning workflows considerably.

For three-dimensional volumetric assessment, the practice uses Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Planmeca's CBCT systems incorporate the proprietary Planmeca Ultra Low Dose™ imaging protocol, described as the world's leading method for acquiring CBCT images at low effective patient doses — gathering more diagnostic information than standard 2D panoramic images at an equivalent or lower radiation dose. The Planmeca CALM® algorithm uses machine learning to automatically correct patient movement during imaging, delivering consistently sharp images without retakes.

Dental Monitoring: AI-powered remote orthodontic oversight

Dental Monitoring lets your orthodontist track your treatment progress remotely using a smartphone and the proprietary ScanBox pro device. You scan weekly from home, and the platform analyses over 60 clinical parameters, sending customised instructions when prescribed observations are detected. For a practice with a high volume of Invisalign cases, this technology meaningfully reduces the number of in-person check-up appointments you need to attend — a genuine benefit if you're a Melbourne CBD professional balancing treatment with a demanding schedule.

The in-house ceramic studio: the most clinically significant differentiator

The most consequential element of the Smile Solutions technology ecosystem is not a scanner or an imaging unit — it's the on-site laboratory. The in-house dental laboratory works exclusively for Smile Solutions patients and does not take work from any other businesses. The team of ceramists, dental technicians, and dental prosthetists uses advanced technology including 3D printers, working directly with clinicians to produce superior appliances and handcrafted porcelain veneers and crowns. No work is sent offshore, and only TGA-approved products are used.

When a ceramist works in the same practice as your treating clinician, shade matching, marginal fit, and occlusal adjustments can be refined in real time — not through written laboratory instructions and a courier cycle. That's a qualitative difference in the fabrication process that directly affects your clinical outcome.

For the complete technical breakdown of every instrument in the Smile Solutions technology stack — including the full CEREC workflow, CBCT imaging protocols, and the laboratory's 3D printing capabilities — see our detailed guide: Dental Technology at Smile Solutions: CEREC, Intraoral Scanners, Digital Imaging & the In-House Laboratory.

The multidisciplinary model: what structural differences actually mean for you

The Australian dental landscape as baseline

To appreciate what Smile Solutions represents, the baseline matters. In 2023, the majority of Australian dentists worked in group private practices (approximately 10,000) or solo private practices (approximately 4,900) — about 84% of all employed dentists in the country. A "group practice" in this context typically means two to five dentists sharing premises, not a multidisciplinary centre with dozens of clinicians and board-registered specialists across every major discipline.

80-plus clinicians: composition, not just headcount

Smile Solutions is the largest privately owned dental practice in Australia, with over 80 clinicians including registered specialists in orthodontics, Invisalign, dental implants, oral surgery, cosmetic dentistry, and children's dentistry, all located across five levels and the tower of the Manchester Unity Building.

Raw headcount is not the differentiating factor — the composition of the team is. Board-registered specialists across oral surgery, endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, and paediatric dentistry, all within a single location, is the structural feature that most sharply separates Smile Solutions from the conventional model. With dentists, hygienists, and board-registered specialists all practising under one roof and the latest technology available, you get a seamless internal referral and treatment planning system.

The internal referral advantage: eliminating weeks of delay

The internal referral system is clinically meaningful, not merely convenient. Research published in the British Dental Journal (2025) examining specialist referral pathways found that current waiting times for routine new patient clinics run 8–12 weeks for single-specialty clinics and up to 15 weeks for multidisciplinary clinics. Even in the private system, external specialist referrals introduce delays measured in weeks or months — delays during which your condition may progress.

At Smile Solutions, when a general dentist identifies a periodontal issue requiring specialist intervention, you can be seen by a specialist periodontist within the same practice — potentially at the same visit or within days, not weeks. Your clinical record, imaging, and treatment context travel with you internally rather than being recreated from scratch externally. This matters particularly for complex, multi-phase treatment plans — implant placements requiring bone grafting, followed by prosthetic restoration, followed by orthodontic refinement — all of which can be planned and executed within a single coordinated team.

Research consistently shows that improved team function, grounded in trust, psychological safety, and shared mental models, produces better patient and organisational outcomes across clinical settings. The physical co-location of specialists at Smile Solutions puts exactly this model into practice at scale.

Blue Diamond Invisalign: what the tier signifies

Invisalign's provider tiering system — from Bronze through to Blue Diamond — is a volume- and outcome-based ranking reflecting the number of cases a provider has successfully completed. Smile Solutions has earned Blue Diamond status, the highest tier, through a documented clinical volume of over 9,000 completed Invisalign cases. At Smile Solutions, your Invisalign treatment is delivered by board-registered specialist orthodontists — not general dentists offering aligners as a supplementary service — supported by the full diagnostic infrastructure of the practice, including CBCT imaging and the Dental Monitoring remote oversight platform.

Thirty years of continuity: a credential no new clinic can match

With over 30 years of practice and service to the community, Smile Solutions has been recognised as the most awarded dental practice in Australia, receiving countless awards for service excellence and customer service. A 30-plus-year track record in a single location is often underestimated. It means Smile Solutions has maintained clinical and operational standards across multiple generations of dental technology, across staff transitions, and across the full arc of a patient's dental lifetime — from childhood paediatric dentistry through orthodontics, restorative work, and eventual prosthodontic or implant needs in later life.

For a systematic comparison of Smile Solutions against the typical Melbourne CBD dental clinic across every structural dimension — including the in-house laboratory, the Blue Diamond Invisalign tier, Saturday appointments, and the internal referral system — see our detailed guide: Smile Solutions vs. Standard Dental Clinics: What Sets Australia's Largest Single-Location Practice Apart.

Your patient experience: from first contact to ongoing care

The anxiety dimension: why environment and process design matter

Any honest account of the Smile Solutions patient experience has to start with dental anxiety.

High dental fear affects about one in seven Australian adults, making it one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders in the country. In Australia, almost one in three adults with high dental fear has not visited a dentist in 10 or more years.

The consequences are clinically serious. Dental anxiety blocks normal access to health services, which increases the risk of oral health disease, and the progressive worsening of untreated oral symptoms reinforces the fear of dental procedures — a cycle that feeds itself.

Smile Solutions addresses this cycle at multiple levels simultaneously: through the physical environment, the structure of the new-patient journey, and the payment architecture.

The Art Deco environment as a clinical asset

Standard dental clinics occupy functional but unremarkable spaces. At Smile Solutions, patients relax in spacious dental suites with some of the most striking views of Melbourne. The clinical relevance of environment is not trivial. A practice that has invested in a genuinely extraordinary setting — the marble walls, copper lift doors, and leadlight finishes of a heritage-listed 1932 building — is actively addressing a documented patient barrier. The contrast between the grandeur of the Art Deco surroundings and the clinical precision of modern dentistry creates a patient experience that is, by design, unlike any other dental practice in Australia.

Booking, hours, and the $50 refundable deposit

Smile Solutions is open six days a week, with extended weekday hours and emergency appointments available daily. Hours are Monday to Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm, and Saturday 8:00 am – 1:30 pm. You can book by calling 13 13 96 or online via the Smile Solutions website or HealthEngine. A $50 refundable deposit is required to secure your appointment — it functions as a commitment mechanism rather than a fee, and is returned in full when you attend.

The complimentary Smile Consultation: separating information from procedure

The Smile Consultation is Smile Solutions' signature new-patient entry point. The 60-minute complimentary consultation gives you the chance to discuss your smile concerns and goals with an experienced Treatment Consultant, exploring treatment options suited to your case along with pricing and flexible payment plans. Critically, the complimentary consultation is a discussion only — no check-up, no X-rays, no scans, no clinical treatment.

This separation of the initial consultation from clinical treatment is clinically significant. Research by Armfield and Ketting (Health Psychology, 2015) found that more than two-thirds of participants with high dental anxiety were currently avoiding or delaying a dental visit, and that dental avoidance was independently predicted by difficulty paying a $300 dental bill, having little or no trust in the last-visited dentist, perceived treatment need, and dental anxiety.

By structuring your first contact as a non-clinical conversation about your goals and options — no instruments, no chair-time, no procedures — the Smile Consultation directly addresses the cost-uncertainty and procedure-fear that keep patients from making that first call. Research found that cost of dental treatment was the most anxiety-eliciting dental situation for 64.5% of respondents, followed by fear of needles or injections (46.0%) and painful or uncomfortable procedures (42.9%). The Smile Consultation resolves the first of these before any clinical commitment is made.

Payment options: making world-class care financially accessible

Smile Solutions offers multiple payment pathways to ensure cost doesn't become an insurmountable barrier to care:

  • Afterpay — four equal fortnightly payments, interest-free when paid on time, for smaller treatment amounts
  • SuperCare — facilitates application to the ATO for compassionate release of superannuation to fund eligible dental procedures, particularly relevant for major surgical or specialist treatment
  • TLC (Treatment Loan Company) — personal loan structure for larger treatment plans, with extended repayment terms
  • Private health insurance — rebates applied at point of service for covered items

The availability of extended interest-free terms means a significant treatment plan — such as a full smile makeover involving veneers and orthodontics — can be broken into manageable monthly instalments without accruing interest charges.

Treatment sequencing: the multidisciplinary planning process

Following your Smile Consultation, if you choose to proceed you'll move through a structured sequence: a comprehensive clinical examination including intraoral photographs, digital radiographs, and where indicated a full OPG; a personalised, itemised written treatment plan with costs for each phase; internal specialist referral where required; and treatment commencement staged according to clinical priority and your preferences.

The approach follows a phased sequence — addressing urgent needs first, then controlling disease, re-evaluating outcomes, performing definitive treatments, and establishing long-term maintenance protocols. This is the clinical embodiment of the multidisciplinary model: not merely co-locating specialists, but building a structured, sequenced pathway that you navigate with the guidance of a Treatment Co-ordinator on Level 11.

For the complete step-by-step guide to planning and attending your first appointment — including what to bring, how to navigate the building, and how the internal referral system works in practice — see our detailed guide: How to Plan Your First Visit to Smile Solutions: Booking, Consultations, Payment Plans & What to Expect.

Cross-cutting analysis: how the four pillars reinforce each other

The individual cluster articles — building heritage, floor-by-floor layout, clinical technology, and patient experience — each illuminate one dimension of Smile Solutions. The unique contribution of this guide is to show how these dimensions are not parallel tracks but mutually reinforcing systems.

Heritage enables experience. The Manchester Unity Building is not merely a backdrop for clinical care — it's an active component of the patient experience strategy. Fear of dental treatment, lower use of dental services, and oral health disease reinforce each other in a documented cycle. Breaking that cycle requires interrupting the fear response, and the Art Deco environment — the marble, the copper, the Gothic tower views — provides an aesthetic counterweight to clinical anxiety that a standard dental fit-out simply cannot replicate.

Spatial layout enables clinical coordination. Assigning specialist care to Level 12 and orthodontics to the tower is not organisational tidiness — it's the physical infrastructure of the internal referral system. When a general dentist on Level 1 can walk a complex case to a periodontist on Level 12 in minutes, the friction of inter-provider communication disappears. Research consistently shows that improved team function, grounded in trust, psychological safety, and shared mental models, produces better patient and organisational outcomes — benefits that underscore the central role of oral health in whole-person care.

Technology enables efficiency at scale. A practice with 250,000 patients and 40 operatory suites cannot function without a technology infrastructure that eliminates redundancy. The CEREC system cuts out the two-appointment laboratory cycle. The multi-platform scanner strategy ensures the right tool is available for every clinical workflow. Dental Monitoring reduces the number of in-person orthodontic check-ups required. The in-house laboratory eliminates offshore outsourcing and courier delays. Each technology decision is a direct response to the operational demands of practising at scale in a heritage-listed building.

Payment architecture enables access at population scale. A patient base of 250,000 is not built by serving only those with comprehensive private health insurance. The Afterpay, SuperCare, and TLC payment options — combined with the cost-transparent Smile Consultation — put into practice the founding philosophy articulated by Dr Pajouhesh in 1993: "striving for excellence in quality of care; overcoming communication barriers, and attempting to view your needs and expectations through your eyes, not our own."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where exactly is Smile Solutions located, and how do I get there?

Smile Solutions is at Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne. The building sits at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets, directly opposite Melbourne Town Hall. It's accessible by tram along Collins Street or Swanston Street, and is a three-minute walk from Flinders Street Station and five minutes from Melbourne Central Station.

Q: What is the Manchester Unity Building, and why is it significant?

The Manchester Unity Building is a twelve-storey Art Deco skyscraper in Melbourne, designed by architect Marcus R. Barlow and completed in December 1932 as the headquarters for the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (HO 411) and is significant across five heritage dimensions: architectural, historical, social, aesthetic, and technical. It was also the first building in Victoria to have escalators.

Q: How many clinicians and specialist types does Smile Solutions have?

As the largest privately owned dental practice in Australia, Smile Solutions has over 80 clinicians, including registered specialists across orthodontics, Invisalign, dental implants, oral surgery, cosmetic dentistry, and children's dentistry. The practice operates 40 operatory suites across five levels and the tower of the Manchester Unity Building.

Q: What is the Smile Consultation, and is it really free?

The 60-minute Smile Consultation is complimentary — there is no charge for the appointment itself. A $50 refundable deposit is required to secure your booking, returned in full when you attend. The consultation is a discussion only; it does not include a clinical examination, X-rays, or treatment. It's designed to let you discuss your goals and understand your options before making any clinical commitment.

Q: What payment plans does Smile Solutions offer?

Interest-free dental payment plans are available for treatment plans up to $9,000. The practice also offers Afterpay (four fortnightly instalments), SuperCare (compassionate release of superannuation through the ATO for eligible procedures), and TLC (Treatment Loan Company) for larger treatment plans, as well as private health insurance rebates applied at point of service.

Q: What is CEREC, and does Smile Solutions use it?

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) is a CAD/CAM system that allows ceramic crowns, veneers, inlays, onlays, and bridges to be designed, milled, and fitted in a single appointment. Smile Solutions operates 12 CEREC units — one of the largest fleets in Australian private dentistry. The clinical evidence base includes a 10-year retrospective study showing a 94.7% survival rate at five years.

Q: What does Blue Diamond Invisalign provider status mean?

Blue Diamond is the highest tier in Invisalign's provider recognition programme, awarded based on clinical volume and outcomes. Smile Solutions' specialist orthodontists have completed over 9,000 Invisalign cases to earn this status. At Smile Solutions, your Invisalign treatment is delivered by board-registered specialist orthodontists supported by CBCT imaging, iTero scanning, and Dental Monitoring remote oversight — not by general dentists offering aligners as a supplementary service.

Q: How does the internal referral system work at Smile Solutions?

With dentists, hygienists, and board-registered specialists all practising under one roof, you benefit from a seamless internal referral and treatment planning system. When a general dentist identifies a case requiring specialist care, the referral happens within the practice — with shared patient records, shared imaging, and coordinated treatment sequencing. This cuts out the 8–15 week waits associated with external specialist referrals in the conventional system.

Key takeaways

  1. The building is part of the clinical model. The Manchester Unity Building is not merely a prestigious address. Its heritage-protected Art Deco environment — marble, copper, Gothic tower views — actively counters dental anxiety, which affects approximately one in seven Australian adults and causes one in three highly anxious patients to avoid the dentist for a decade or more.

  2. Spatial organisation enables clinical coordination. Assigning general dentistry to Levels 1 and 10, specialist care to Level 12, and orthodontics to the tower is the physical infrastructure of the internal referral system — cutting out the weeks-long delays that characterise external specialist referrals in conventional practice.

  3. Technology functions as an integrated system, not a collection of instruments. The 12 CEREC units, 16 iTero scanners, 6 Trios scanners, Planmeca CBCT imaging, Dental Monitoring platform, and in-house ceramic studio work as an end-to-end digital workflow — from diagnosis through fabrication through remote monitoring.

  4. The multidisciplinary model has an evidence base. Research consistently shows that co-located, interprofessional dental teams produce better patient outcomes through improved communication, shared mental models, and reduced treatment fragmentation — advantages that Smile Solutions' spatial and organisational model is specifically designed to deliver.

  5. Your patient journey is engineered to remove barriers. The complimentary Smile Consultation (discussion only, no clinical commitment), the $50 refundable deposit structure, six-day-per-week availability, and multiple payment options — Afterpay, SuperCare, TLC — are not peripheral service features. They are clinical tools that determine whether anxious and cost-concerned patients receive care at all.

  6. Thirty years of continuity is a credential that cannot be replicated. Since its founding in 1993, Smile Solutions has grown from a client base of just 8 to over 250,000, and has been recognised as the proud recipient of countless awards for service excellence. A patient who began at Smile Solutions as a child can receive specialist periodontal care, implant surgery, and prosthetic restoration at the same practice — with a clinical record spanning decades.

Conclusion: a practice model built for the long term

Smile Solutions at the Manchester Unity Building is something the Australian dental landscape has not produced elsewhere: a genuinely multidisciplinary, all-under-one-roof private dental practice large enough to serve every facet of your dental needs across your lifetime, housed in a heritage-listed architectural masterpiece that actively enhances your experience rather than merely containing it.

The convergence of these elements — the 1932 Art Deco Gothic building, the deliberate floor-by-floor spatial logic, the comprehensive digital technology stack, the 80-plus-clinician multidisciplinary team, and the carefully engineered patient journey — is not accidental. It is the result of more than two decades of deliberate investment by Dr Kia Pajouhesh, who saw in a decaying heritage building not just a landmark worth saving, but the ideal physical container for a new model of comprehensive dental care.

As the evidence base for interprofessional dental collaboration continues to grow — and as digital dentistry technologies continue to compress the time and friction of complex restorative and orthodontic treatment — the Smile Solutions model looks increasingly well-founded. The practice did not wait for the industry to catch up. It built the infrastructure, restored the building, assembled the experienced specialists, and deployed the technology — and has been refining all four for thirty years.

If you're ready to experience world-class care in one of Melbourne's most extraordinary settings, book your complimentary Smile Consultation today by calling 13 13 96 or visiting the Smile Solutions website.

References

  • Armfield, Jason M. "The extent and nature of dental fear and phobia in Australia." Australian Dental Journal, 2010; 55:368–377. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21174906/

  • Armfield, Jason M. "Dental fear in Australia: who's afraid of the dentist?" Australian Dental Journal, 2006; 51(1). https://files01.core.ac.uk/download/pdf/12748271.pdf

  • Armfield, Jason M., and Ketting, M. "Predictors of dental avoidance among Australian adults with different levels of dental anxiety." Health Psychology, 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25528183/

  • National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). "Drilling down: discovering the origins of dental anxiety." Australian Government, 2014. https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/news-centre/drilling-down-discovering-origins-dental-anxiety

  • Victorian Heritage Database. "Manchester Unity Building, 220–226 Collins Street, Melbourne." Heritage Victoria, VHR No. 602994 / HO 411. https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/728

  • Smile Solutions. "Australia's Largest Private Dental Practice." Official website, 2024. https://www.smilesolutions.com.au/

  • Kishore, M., Panat, S., Aggarwal, A., Agarwal, N., Upadhyay, N., and Alok, A. "Evidence Based Dental Care: Integrating Clinical Expertise with Systematic Research." Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, 2014; 8(2):259–262. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3972581/

  • Guo, F., et al. "Integrating Dentistry into Interprofessional Healthcare: A Scoping Review on Advancing Collaborative Practice and Patient Outcomes." MDPI Healthcare, 2025; 13(21):2780. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/13/21/2780

  • Reiss, B., and Walther, W. "Clinical long-term results and 10-year Kaplan-Meier analysis of Cerec restorations: a case series." International Journal of Computerized Dentistry, 2000; 3(1):9–23.

  • Baeshen, H.A., et al. "Comparative accuracy of CEREC Primescan, Medit i500, and 3Shape Trios intraoral scanners for full-arch impressions." PMC, 2024.

  • University of Adelaide, Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health. "Dental Fear and Anxiety." https://health.adelaide.edu.au/arcpoh/dperu/colgate-special-topics/dental-fear-and-anxiety

  • Wikipedia contributors. "Manchester Unity Building." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Unity_Building

  • City of Melbourne — What's On Melbourne. "Manchester Unity Building." https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/manchester-unity-building

Label Facts Summary

Disclaimer: All facts and statements below are general information sourced from publicly available practice and building documentation, not professional advice. Consult relevant experts for specific guidance.

Verified Label Facts

Practice Identity & Location

  • Practice name: Smile Solutions
  • Address: Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
  • Building: Manchester Unity Building
  • Corner: Collins and Swanston Streets
  • Opposite: Melbourne Town Hall
  • Phone: 13 13 96
  • Founded: 1993
  • Founder: Dr Kia Pajouhesh

Practice Scale

  • Patient base: Over 250,000
  • Clinicians: Over 80
  • Operatory suites: 40
  • Levels occupied: Five levels plus the tower
  • Invisalign cases completed: Over 9,000
  • Invisalign provider tier: Blue Diamond (highest tier)
  • Years operating: Over 30

Clinical Technology

  • CEREC units: 12
  • CEREC full name: Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics
  • CEREC appointment duration: Less than one hour
  • CEREC 5-year survival rate: 94.7% (Reiss & Walther retrospective study, 308 restorations, 95 patients)
  • CEREC 10-year survival rate: 85.7% (same study)
  • iTero Element scanners: 16
  • 3Shape Trios scanners: 6
  • Dental Monitoring clinical parameters analysed: Over 60
  • 2D imaging system: Planmeca digital imaging
  • 3D imaging: Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)
  • CBCT dose protocol: Planmeca Ultra Low Dose™
  • In-house laboratory: Yes, exclusively for Smile Solutions patients
  • Offshore laboratory work: None
  • Products used: TGA-approved only

Floor Assignments

  • Levels 1 and 10: General and cosmetic dentistry
  • Level 11: Restored Manchester Unity Building Boardroom and executive offices
  • Level 12: Dental specialist centre
  • Tower: Orthodontic centre

Specialist Disciplines Available

  • Orthodontics
  • Oral surgery
  • Endodontics
  • Periodontics
  • Prosthodontics
  • Paediatric dentistry

Hours & Booking

  • Monday to Friday: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
  • Saturday: 8:00 am – 1:30 pm
  • Sunday: Closed
  • Emergency appointments: Available daily
  • Booking channels: Phone (13 13 96), Smile Solutions website, HealthEngine

Smile Consultation

  • Duration: 60 minutes
  • Cost: Complimentary
  • Includes clinical treatment: No
  • Includes X-rays: No
  • Deposit required: $50, refundable in full upon attendance

Payment Options

  • Afterpay: Four equal fortnightly interest-free payments
  • SuperCare: Compassionate release of superannuation via ATO for eligible dental procedures
  • TLC: Treatment Loan Company personal loan for larger treatment plans
  • Private health insurance: Rebates applied at point of service
  • Interest-free plans: Available for treatment plans up to $9,000

Transport

  • Distance from Flinders Street Station: Approximately 3 minutes walk
  • Distance from Melbourne Central Station: Approximately 5 minutes walk

Manchester Unity Building — Documented Specifications

  • Completion date: December 1932
  • Architect: Marcus R. Barlow
  • Builder: W. E. Cooper Pty Ltd
  • Architectural style: Art Deco mixed with Gothic Revival
  • Design inspiration: Tribune Tower, Chicago
  • Heritage listing: Victorian Heritage Register, VHR No. 602994 / HO 411
  • Exterior cladding: Glazed terracotta faience tiles
  • Terracotta quantity: 250 tonnes
  • Roof height: 40 metres (132 feet)
  • Ornamental tower and spire: Additional 24 metres (78 feet)
  • First building in Victoria with escalators: Yes (Otis-Waygood escalator, ground floor to mezzanine)
  • Built during: The Great Depression
  • Storeys: Twelve
  • Boardroom table length: Nearly 6 metres
  • Boardroom table built: On-site, 1932
  • Boardroom furniture heritage status: Heritage-listed
  • Level 11 restoration team: Rob Mills Architects, Andronas Conservation Architects, Paul Bangay
  • Rooftop terrace designer: Paul Bangay
  • Dr Pajouhesh first acquired space: 2003
  • Initial patient base at founding: 8

General Product Claims

  • Smile Solutions is Australia's largest single-location private dental practice
  • The Manchester Unity Building environment actively counters dental anxiety
  • The in-house ceramic laboratory enables real-time iterative refinement of shade matching, marginal fit, and occlusal adjustments
  • Internal specialist referrals eliminate the 8–15 week waits associated with external specialist referrals
  • The CEREC system eliminates the traditional two-appointment, two-to-three-week wait for ceramic restorations
  • Dental Monitoring meaningfully reduces the number of in-person orthodontic check-up appointments required
  • The Art Deco environment provides an aesthetic counterweight to clinical anxiety that a standard dental fit-out cannot replicate
  • The Smile Consultation resolves cost-uncertainty before any clinical commitment is made
  • Smile Solutions is the most awarded dental practice in Australia
  • The practice has received countless awards recognising service excellence and customer service
  • The Smile Solutions model is described as prescient relative to industry trends in interprofessional collaboration and digital dentistry
  • Co-location of specialists puts improved team function, trust, psychological safety, and shared mental models into practice
  • The building's construction during the Great Depression was a civic act of defiance and symbolised economic optimism
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