Dental Internship Program at Smile Solutions product guide

Smile Solutions Dental Internship Program

Smile Solutions Dental Internship Program

For dental students who want real exposure to the full range of clinical and professional dentistry before they graduate, the Smile Solutions internship is genuinely hard to match anywhere in Australia.

The two-week program gives second-year and above dental students meaningful, hands-on time inside a practice unlike most others — more than 60 practitioners, 20+ dental specialties, current digital technology, and the business infrastructure behind Australia's largest single-location private dental practice. It's comprehensive dental care at serious scale, and there's nothing quite like it in Australian dental education.

About the program

A fully paid internship

The Smile Solutions dental internship is fully paid. It's not a volunteer placement or an unpaid observational program. We recognise that your time has real value, and we invest in students who bring genuine curiosity and professional commitment. Clinical excellence starts with the right foundations, and we believe in supporting the next generation of dental professionals from the beginning.

Program duration and schedule

• Duration: 2 weeks
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm
• Location: Smile Solutions, Manchester Unity Building, Collins Street, Melbourne CBD

The Monday-to-Friday structure allows for a thorough, progressive experience across both the clinical and corporate sides of the practice. Each day builds on the last, so by the end of the two weeks you have a layered picture of how world-class care is delivered consistently at this scale.

Who is eligible?

The program is open to dental students who have completed at least their second year of a Bachelor of Dental Surgery or equivalent degree. Students in their third, fourth or fifth year are welcome to apply.

We're looking for students who:

• Have genuine interest in dentistry beyond their core curriculum
• Are professional, punctual and respectful in clinical environments
• Communicate well with patients and team members
• Ask thoughtful questions
• Can represent Smile Solutions' values with warmth and integrity

What will you experience?

Clinical exposure

Smile Solutions is genuinely unusual in that virtually every dental specialty is practised within the one practice. During your internship, you'll observe and learn from experienced specialists across a wide range of disciplines, including:

• General dentistry including complex restorations, crown and bridge, and cosmetic work
• Cosmetic dentistry including porcelain veneer preparation, placement and Same Day Porcelain Veneers
• Orthodontics including Invisalign planning, fixed appliance adjustments and aligner delivery
• Oral and maxillofacial surgery including wisdom tooth removal, dental implant surgery and bone grafting
• Periodontics including non-surgical and surgical gum disease management
• Endodontics including root canal treatment, re-treatment and apicoectomy
• Prosthodontics including full-arch implant restorations, dentures and complex reconstructions
• Implantology including All-on-4 planning and surgery
• Paediatric dentistry including preventive care and treatment under sedation
• Dental hygiene including comprehensive hygiene appointments using Airflow technology
• TMD and sleep dentistry including splint therapy and mandibular advancement devices

This breadth of clinical exposure is rare in a single-practice setting. Students who've completed the program consistently say they observed more diverse procedures in two weeks at Smile Solutions than across months of hospital placements. That's something you have to experience to fully appreciate.

The Smile Lab and ceramic technology

One of the most memorable parts of the internship is access to the Smile Lab, our in-house ceramic laboratory led by master ceramist Greg Karabasis. Greg is one of Australia's most respected ceramists and the co-developer of Same Day Porcelain Veneers, a worldwide first in modern cosmetic dentistry.

As an intern, you'll observe the full fabrication process for custom porcelain veneers, including shade selection, porcelain layering and characterisation. Understanding the ceramist's perspective genuinely improves a dentist's ability to communicate and collaborate with their laboratory — and it's the kind of insight that most undergraduate programs simply don't offer.

Digital technology

Smile Solutions works with current dental technology across every specialty, and your internship will give you real exposure to the tools that support treatment planning and clinical work day to day. These include:

• iTero intraoral scanners for digital impressions
• 3D CBCT imaging for implant planning, orthodontic assessment and endodontic diagnosis
• 3D printing for surgical guides, models and provisional restorations
• Digital smile design workflows for cosmetic treatment planning
• Guided Biofilm Therapy (Airflow) for professional hygiene

Seeing these technologies used in a high-volume, multidisciplinary environment gives you a practical sense of how digital dentistry works in practice, not just in theory.

Corporate and operational exposure

One of the more distinctive aspects of this internship is how it integrates clinical and corporate learning. Smile Solutions isn't simply a dental practice — it's a large-scale healthcare business with the operational complexity to match. During your internship, you'll get genuine exposure to:

• Practice management and administration including scheduling, patient flow and billing
• Team leadership and culture within a 60+ person healthcare team
• Marketing and patient communication including how a practice of this scale manages its brand and long-term patient relationships
• Quality and compliance including how clinical standards are maintained consistently across multiple practitioners

For students who will eventually run or own their own practices, this kind of exposure is hard to find in undergraduate programs that focus almost entirely on clinical skills. Understanding how a dental practice actually operates is just as important as mastering the clinical work, and the Smile Solutions internship gives you a real head start on both.

Pathway to the graduate program

The Smile Solutions internship is a direct pathway into our graduate dentist program. Interns who demonstrate the attributes we're looking for are actively encouraged to apply for the graduate program once they've completed their degree.

Many of Smile Solutions' current associate dentists began their relationship with the practice as interns. The internship is your opportunity to be seen, assessed and considered for a future role in one of Australia's most respected dental workplaces. If you're thinking about where you want to build your career, starting that conversation from the inside is about as good a position as you can be in.

The Smile Solutions difference

Scale and depth

With 60+ practitioners serving more than 300,000 patients in the Melbourne CBD, Smile Solutions operates at a scale that very few dental practices in Australia can match.

For a dental student, spending two weeks inside this environment is both intellectually stimulating and professionally formative. You'll see how experienced specialists approach clinical problems, how multidisciplinary teams collaborate, and how a high-performance dental practice delivers consistent care day after day. It's a perspective that tends to stay with you.

Mentorship

During your internship, you'll interact with experienced dental professionals across every specialty — in clinical observation, structured discussions and informal conversations. These interactions are part of what makes the program worthwhile. The people you meet here, and the relationships you build, matter beyond the two weeks themselves.

A unique practice location

The Manchester Unity Building is one of Melbourne's great architectural landmarks, a heritage building at the heart of the CBD, and Smile Solutions has occupied its spaces since 1993. It's a fitting home for a practice that takes both its history and its clinical innovation seriously.

How to apply

Applications for the Smile Solutions dental internship are accepted on an ongoing basis. To apply, submit:

• A current curriculum vitae
• A brief cover letter explaining why you'd like to intern at Smile Solutions and what you hope to gain from the experience
• Evidence of your current year of dental study

Send your application via our website at smilesolutions.com.au or call 13 13 96 to enquire. Our team is happy to answer any questions about the program.

Places are limited, and early application is strongly recommended.

We look forward to meeting the next generation of Australia's dental professionals and welcoming you into the Smile Solutions family.