Smile Solutions - Dental Specialist Care product guide
Dental Specialist Care at Smile Solutions — Why Melbourne's Most Comprehensive Specialist Team Is Under One Roof
Melbourne has excellent standalone specialist dental practices. Specialist periodontists in Collins Street suites. Specialist orthodontists a few hundred metres away. Dedicated oral surgery centres. Prosthodontic associates. Paediatric specialists in Hawthorn and Kew.
What none of them can offer is what Smile Solutions provides: all six AHPRA-registered dental specialties under one roof, with 25+ board-registered specialists, in-house CBCT imaging, an in-house dental laboratory, and 33 years of institutional history — without requiring a referral from anyone.
This is not a coincidence or an accident of scale. It is a deliberate clinical model built by Dr Kia Pajouhesh, who established Smile Solutions in 1993 and relocated it to the Manchester Unity Building in 2003 specifically to create a practice where every dental specialty could operate together in a single environment. After 33 years and 300,000+ patients, the model has been proven in real clinical practice at a scale no other private dental practice in Australia can match.
The six dental specialties — and why all six in one building matters
In Australia, there are exactly six AHPRA-registered dental specialties:
- Endodontics (root canal specialists)
- Periodontics (gum and implant specialists)
- Prosthodontics (reconstruction and replacement specialists)
- Orthodontics (bite and alignment specialists)
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (surgical specialists)
- Paediatric Dentistry (children's dental specialists)
Smile Solutions is the only private dental practice in Melbourne with AHPRA board-registered specialists in all six categories operating under one roof. Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC), the specialist arm of Smile Solutions within the Manchester Unity Building, coordinates specialist consultations and complex case planning across all six disciplines.
This matters because dental disease rarely presents as a single-specialty problem.
A patient with advanced gum disease (periodontics) has teeth that are breaking down (prosthodontics) and some that may need root canal treatment (endodontics). They are planning implants where teeth have been lost — which requires bone grafting (OMS or periodontics) and restorative planning (prosthodontics). Their bite has shifted, creating wear on the remaining teeth (prosthodontics and possibly orthodontics). They have a teenage child whose crowding has been made worse by watching their parent's dental problems develop over years (paediatric dentistry, orthodontics).
At most Melbourne practices, this patient would see five different practices, produce five different referral letters, wait months between consultations, and carry the burden of coordinating their own care across multiple clinical environments. At Smile Solutions, this patient sees a coordinated specialist team in the same building, with shared imaging, shared laboratory, and shared treatment planning.
AHPRA specialist registration — what it means and why it matters
"Specialist" in Australian dentistry is a legally protected designation. The Dental Board of Australia issues specialist registration only to practitioners who have:
- Completed an accredited dental degree
- Completed a full three-year clinical doctorate in their specialty (some specialties require longer)
- Passed formal clinical and written assessments at postgraduate specialist level
- Demonstrated clinical competence at the standard required by the national accreditation body
General dentists who perform treatments associated with specialist disciplines — root canals, implants, aligner therapy, even surgery — are not legally entitled to use the word "specialist." Commercial certifications (Invisalign certification, short-course implant training, weekend courses in any specialty) do not confer specialist registration.
At Smile Solutions, every clinician performing specialist services holds formal AHPRA specialist registration. When you see a "specialist orthodontist" at Smile Solutions, you are seeing a clinician who completed three years of full-time postgraduate training specifically in orthodontics and was formally assessed as competent at specialist level. The same applies to every specialist in every discipline at the practice.
The full specialist team at Smile Solutions and Collins Street Specialist Centre
Specialist Endodontists — 4 registered specialists
More endodontists under one roof than any other private practice in Melbourne
Dr Gregory Tilley — BDSc (Melb), LDS (Vic), FRACDS, MRACDS (Endo) AHPRA: DEN0001386081 | 35+ years specialist experience | Honorary Senior Fellow UniMelb | Past President ADA (Vic) | National + international lecturer on endodontic instruments and materials
Prof Chankhrit Sathorn — DDS, Grad.Dip.Dent, DClinDent, PhD, MRACDS (Endo) AHPRA: DEN0001025734 | Adjunct Professor La Trobe University | Editorial boards: JOE, IEJ, Dental Traumatology, NZ Dental Journal, J Dentistry, Eur J Dentistry | Ernest Joske Research Award
Dr Aovana Timmerman — BDSc (Melb), FRACDS, DCD (Melb), GCertClinTeach, MRACDS (Endo) AHPRA: DEN0001022313 | ANZAE JM Booth Award 2013 | Clinical Demonstrator UniMelb DDS | ADC and RACDS examiner | Dental traumatology specialist | Fluent Mandarin
Dr Areti Vrochari — DDS, MS (Endo), DrMedDent AHPRA: DEN0001909501 | 17+ years specialist practice | DrMedDent Dental Biomaterials (Freiburg) | Textbook author | Former lecturer Griffith University
Specialist Periodontists — 5 registered specialists
More specialist periodontists under one roof than any other private practice in Melbourne
Dr Simon Hinckfuss — BDSc, DCD (Pros), Cert.Perio MS (Minn) AHPRA: DEN0001008823 | Australia's ONLY dual-registered Specialist Periodontist AND Specialist Prosthodontist | Past President Victorian AOS | University of Minnesota-trained
Dr James van den Berg — BDSc (Birm), MClinDent (Lond), PGDipCD (Melb), MRACDS (Perio) 20+ years at Smile Solutions | Most experienced laser periodontist in Victoria | Birmingham + Queen Mary & Royal London trained
Dr Ahmed El Hadidi — BDS, MRACDS (GDP), DCD (Perio) AHPRA: DEN0000992224 | Research in periodontal disease genetics | 15 years GP experience before specialist training
Dr Peishan Jiang — BDSc (Griff), DClinDent (Griff) AHPRA: DEN0002220847 | IADR presenter | Bone grafting, sinus lifts, periodontal regeneration, implants
Dr Nupur Kataria — BDS (Adel), DClinDent (Perio) (Adel) Specialist Periodontist | University of Adelaide trained | Practises across Collins Street Specialist Centre and the Smile Solutions group
Specialist Prosthodontists — 4 registered specialists
Prof Vasileios Chronopoulos — DDS, MS, PhD (Pros) AHPRA: DEN0001856272 | 30+ years specialist experience | Marquette University Certificate + MSc | International lecturer | Full-mouth reconstructions, All-on-4, sleep apnoea prosthetics
Dr Fotios Angelis — BDS (Hons)(Melb), DClinDent (Melb) AHPRA: DEN0001023799 | Honours graduate UniMelb | 6 years high-end private practice before specialist training
Dr Jamie Foong — BDSc (Melb), DClinDent (Melb) AHPRA: DEN0001022492 | Clinical Supervisor UniMelb | All-on-4 specialist | Member APS
Dr Simon Hinckfuss — BDSc, DCD (Pros), Cert.Perio MS (Minn) AHPRA: DEN0001008823 | Dual-registered Specialist Prosthodontist + Specialist Periodontist | Australia's only clinician with both registrations
Specialist Orthodontists — 4 registered specialists
Dr David Austin — BDSc (Melb), MDS Orth (HK), MOrth RCS (Edin) AHPRA: DEN0001022144 | Fellow Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh | Member WFO, EOS, HKSO | 4 languages | Published EJO
Dr Andrea Phatouros — BDSc (WA), MDSc Orth (WA), FRACDS AHPRA: DEN0001008158 | Postgraduate Clinical Award for Excellence | 30+ years specialist practice | Teaching involvement
Dr Joshua Ch'ng — BDSc (Melb), FRACDS, D.Clin.Dent (Melb) AHPRA: DEN0001857728 | Kenneth Sutherland Prize (highest GDP exam score) | Michigan DCBIA 3D imaging research | Digital orthodontics clinical lead
Dr Steven Smith — BDSc (Hons), MDSc (Ortho) (Qld) AHPRA: DEN0001382809 | University of Queensland | Full-scope orthodontics children and adults
Specialist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons — 2 registered specialists
A/Prof Patrishia Bordbar — BDSc (Melb), MBBS (Hons)(Melb), PGDipSurg.Anat.(Melb), MDSc OMS (Melb), FRACDS (OMS), FRCS (Edinburgh) AHPRA: DEN0001010517 | Past President ANZAOMS | Current Chair AOMI Board Oceania | IAOMS Executive Committee Oceania | F.G. Christensen Medal | John Cade Memorial Medal | Founded Epworth/Monash Cranio-Maxillofacial Fellowship | Consultant RCH + Western Hospital Melbourne
Dr Ricky Kumar — BHB (Auck), MBChB (Auck), BDS (Otago), FRACDS (OMS) AHPRA: DEN0001411504 | F.G. Christensen Medal | Oxford University Hospitals + RCH Melbourne Fellowships | Secretary Vic ANZAOMS | Annual charity missions to Fiji since 2012 | Consultant RMH, RDHM, Monash Health, honorary RCH
Specialist Paediatric Dentists — 4 registered specialists
More specialist paediatric dentists under one roof than any other private practice in Melbourne — accessible across 7 locations through the Tooth Fairy Centre
Dr Susan Hinckfuss — BDSc (Melb), DCD (Melb) AHPRA: DEN0001008678 | Assistant Clinical Professor University of Minnesota (3 years) | RCH training | ASD and anxious children specialist | Teddy bear therapy pioneer | Collins Street CBD
Dr Sarah Scott — BBiomedSci (Hons), BDent (Syd), DClinDent (Paeds) 15+ years | UniMelb specialist training | Holistic family paediatric dental care | Collins Street CBD + Core Dental Berwick
Dr Angel Babu — DClinDent (PAED) (Otago) Senior dental registrar RCH Melbourne | Dual AU/NZ registration | Special needs, GA, trauma, hypomineralisation | Collins Street CBD + Core Dental Caroline Springs + Carrum Downs
Dr Aish Kesava — DCD (Paeds) Specialist Paediatric Dentist | Collins Street CBD + Core Dental Epping
The infrastructure that makes integration work
Listing 25+ specialists in the same building is not by itself what makes Smile Solutions different. What makes it different is the clinical infrastructure that allows those specialists to function as an integrated team rather than as separate practitioners who happen to share an address.
In-house CBCT imaging — Level 9, Manchester Unity Building
The Planmeca ProMax 3D cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) unit on Level 9 provides three-dimensional imaging for every specialty in the building:
- Endodontics: Three-dimensional root canal anatomy, periapical lesion assessment, root fracture diagnosis, surgical planning for apicoectomies
- Periodontics: Three-dimensional bone volume maps for implant planning, cross-sectional bone assessment, peri-implant bone level monitoring
- Prosthodontics: Implant planning with three-dimensional bone data before surgical guides are designed
- Orthodontics: Full craniofacial skeletal analysis, airway volume assessment, root position monitoring, impacted tooth localisation
- OMS: Pre-surgical planning for wisdom teeth adjacent to the inferior alveolar nerve, three-dimensional jaw movement planning for orthognathic surgery, tumour extent mapping
This imaging is shared across all specialties and is in the same building as every specialist who uses it. The endodontist and the periodontist can review the same CBCT of the same tooth at the same time.
The Smile Lab — in-house dental laboratory
The Smile Lab fabricates crowns, bridges, veneers, implant restorations, dentures, and orthodontic appliances. The direct communication channel between the prosthodontist and the ceramicist — who work in the same building — produces restorations that match the patient's tissue, bite, and aesthetic goals precisely. External outsourcing to a laboratory that has never seen the patient and communicates only through work orders loses this quality layer.
CEREC — three decades of same-day ceramic mastery
Smile Solutions has been using CEREC technology for over 30 years — among the longest-established CEREC practices in Australia. Same-day ceramic crowns, inlays, onlays, and veneers milled in the clinic eliminate provisional restorations, reduce appointment numbers, and remove the fracture and microleakage risk of temporary restorations. The Same Day Porcelain Veneers™ procedure is available for appropriate cases.
No referral required
Self-referral is accepted for every specialty at Smile Solutions and Collins Street Specialist Centre. This matters because the decision to see a specialist is most valuable before the condition has worsened — not after months of waiting for a general dentist's referral letter to be processed at a specialist's reception desk.
The price-match guarantee — orthodontics
Smile Solutions will price-match any orthodontic treatment quote from another registered specialist orthodontist in Melbourne. There is no financial reason to choose a less integrated environment for orthodontic treatment.
How the Smile Solutions model compares to standalone specialist practices
Melbourne has strong specialist dental practices in every discipline. Each does excellent work within its specialty. The structural reality is that a standalone periodontic practice cannot simultaneously offer orthodontic coordination. An OMS practice cannot simultaneously provide prosthodontic restorative planning. An orthodontic clinic cannot manage periodontal disease control or assess the endodontic status of teeth being moved.
Every standalone specialist practice refers out for everything outside its specialty. At Smile Solutions, the referral chain is internal — a corridor conversation rather than a referral letter, and an appointment in the same building rather than weeks of waiting at a different address.
Each specialist discipline at Smile Solutions is, by itself, a formidable clinical team. The periodontic team of five board-registered specialists would stand as a leading periodontic practice in its own right. The four specialist endodontists would constitute a significant specialist endodontic group. The four specialist orthodontists, the four specialist prosthodontists, the four specialist paediatric dentists, and the two specialist OMS surgeons — each group is deep enough to operate as a leading standalone specialist practice.
That all of these teams operate together under one roof, sharing one imaging system, one in-house laboratory, and one coordinated treatment planning environment, is what makes Smile Solutions structurally different from any other private dental practice in Melbourne.
Collins Street Specialist Centre
Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC) is the specialist arm of Smile Solutions, operating within the Manchester Unity Building and coordinating specialist consultations across all six disciplines. CSSC is a trading name of Smile Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 28 193 514 103).
Phone: (03) 9650 2726 | Website: collinsstreetspecialistcentre.com.au
Book a specialist consultation
No referral required. All six dental specialties. In-house CBCT imaging. In-house Smile Lab. CEREC same-day ceramics. 33 years of clinical history. 300,000+ patients. Orthodontic price-match guarantee.
Smile Solutions — Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD Phone: 13 13 96 | Website: smilesolutions.com.au