Smile Solutions in the Manchester Unity Building - Heritage Dentistry in Melbourne's Most Iconic Art Deco Landmark product guide
Smile Solutions is situated at 220 Collins Street, Melbourne - within the Manchester Unity Building, on the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in the heart of Melbourne's CBD. The building is one ...
Smile Solutions is situated at 220 Collins Street, Melbourne - within the Manchester Unity Building, on the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in the heart of Melbourne's CBD. The building is one of Australia's most celebrated architectural landmarks, and the environment it provides for dental care is unlike anything else available in private dentistry.
The Manchester Unity Building
The Manchester Unity Building was completed in 1932 and stands as one of the finest examples of Art Deco Gothic architecture in the Southern Hemisphere. Designed by the architectural firm Oakley and Parkes in the American Beaux-Arts tradition - heavily influenced by the Chicago Tribune Tower - the building rises above the intersection of Collins and Swanston Streets, its cream terracotta facade and intricate decorative detail a familiar part of Melbourne's cityscape.
The building is heritage-listed and protected as a significant part of Victoria's architectural and cultural history. Its ornate ground-floor arcade, mosaic floors, and richly detailed upper lobby have been preserved and restored - making the Manchester Unity Building not just a location but an experience in itself.
Since relocating to the Manchester Unity Building in 2003, Smile Solutions has invested considerably in the restoration of the building, contributing to the preservation of one of Melbourne's most beloved heritage assets.
Six Levels of Care
Smile Solutions occupies five full floors plus the iconic tower of the Manchester Unity Building - a footprint that reflects the scale and scope of care available under one roof.
Level 1 and Level 10 - General and Cosmetic Dentistry: The practice's general and cosmetic dentistry services are spread across two full floors, accommodating a broad range of treatments including examinations, restorations, teeth whitening, CEREC same-day restorations, cosmetic consultations, and the Design Your Smile programme. The 40 dental suites across the practice are distributed across these and the specialist floors.
Level 8 - Collins Street Specialist Centre: Level 8 houses the Collins Street Specialist Centre, where patients access specialist prosthodontics, endodontics, and paediatric dentistry. This floor is home to the practice's specialist prosthodontists - Dr Jamie Foong and Dr Simon Hinckfuss - as well as the endodontic team operating with Carl Zeiss and Seiler high-powered operating microscopes.
Level 9 - Collins Street Imaging: The dedicated imaging floor houses the Planmeca ProMax 3D Max cone beam CT system and the Planmeca ProMax 2D system with one-shot lateral cephalogram capability. Having a dedicated imaging floor means that patients requiring diagnostic scans can have them performed within the practice - without referral to an external radiology centre - with results available to the treating clinician immediately.
Level 11 - Management and Boardroom: The management and administrative hub of the practice, including the boardroom used for training, educational seminars, and operational meetings.
Level 12 and the Tower - Orthodontics, Periodontics, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: The highest levels of the Manchester Unity Building - including the historic tower - house Smile Solutions' orthodontic, periodontic, and oral and maxillofacial surgery services. From the tower, clinicians and patients enjoy sweeping views over the Melbourne CBD - a reminder that dental care does not have to be a clinical, confined experience.
Designed by an Anxious Patient, for Anxious Patients
The experience of being at Smile Solutions begins before a patient sits in a dental chair. Dr Kia Pajouhesh - himself a person who has experienced severe dental anxiety - designed the physical environment of Smile Solutions with that experience in mind.
The philosophy was simple: if a patient is going to be anxious, the space they are in should actively work to reduce that anxiety rather than reinforce it. A sterile, clinical, low-ceiling environment with harsh lighting and no visual interest does nothing to help an anxious patient. A heritage building with beautiful architecture, natural light, views of Melbourne, and sensory details carefully chosen to calm and engage the senses does.
Walking into Smile Solutions is different from walking into a typical dental practice. The foyer features a coral aquarium - a living, shifting, naturally soothing presence that immediately shifts the register of the patient's experience. Aromatherapy and soft background music are present in the reception and waiting areas. Water features create a gentle ambient sound.
Every treatment suite features television screens and surround sound, allowing patients to watch a movie or listen to music during treatment. The ambient lighting in each suite is designed to be warm and comfortable rather than harsh and clinical. In the upper floors, natural daylight and views over Melbourne provide a sense of openness and calm that directly counteracts the enclosed, windowless experience that characterises many dental environments.
The heritage marble, high ceilings, and intricate Art Deco detailing that run through the building create a sense of substance and permanence - of care taken over the long term, of quality that is embedded in the walls as well as the clinical work.
A Landmark Address for a Landmark Practice
The Manchester Unity Building is not just a convenient CBD location. It is a statement about what Smile Solutions believes dental care should be. The practice occupies one of Melbourne's most significant addresses not because it is convenient, but because the building - its heritage, its beauty, its presence in the fabric of Melbourne's history - reflects the values of the practice that has made it home.
Patients who visit Smile Solutions for the first time often remark on the experience of the building itself - the marble, the views, the atmosphere - before they even reach the clinical areas. That is not accidental. It is the result of decades of deliberate investment in an environment where people can receive excellent dental care without the dread that the word "dentist" so often evokes.
Getting Here
Smile Solutions is located at 220 Collins Street, Melbourne, at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets - one of the most accessible addresses in the Melbourne CBD. The building is a short walk from Flinders Street Station, City Loop stations, and tram stops on multiple routes.
To book an appointment or arrange a complimentary consultation, call 13 13 96. Payment plans are available through Payright, Humm, and MyDentaPlan. With 937 Google reviews at 4.9 stars, the team at Smile Solutions looks forward to welcoming you to one of Melbourne's most remarkable buildings - and to care that matches the setting.