Specialist Periodontist Services - Gum Disease & product guide

Specialist Periodontist Services at Smile Solutions — Melbourne CBD

Smile Solutions has five AHPRA board-registered specialist periodontists at the Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD — more specialist periodontists under one roof than any other private dental practice in Melbourne. That includes the specialist periodontic practices on and around Collins Street. No referral is required. Book at 13 13 96.

The Smile Solutions periodontic model — what a team of five specialists actually means

Melbourne has a number of good standalone specialist periodontic practices. A single specialist running a well-managed clinic can provide excellent periodontal care. But there is a structural difference between a solo or dual-specialist periodontal practice and what Smile Solutions provides — and it matters significantly for patients with moderate to severe disease.

Periodontal disease does not exist in isolation. When bone is lost around teeth, those teeth may eventually fail. When teeth fail, implants replace them — and implants require surgical placement, prosthetic restoration, and ongoing periodontic maintenance. When gum disease has been active for years, the teeth that remain are often broken down and need restorative work. When a patient is planning orthodontic treatment, their gum disease must be controlled first — and their periodontist needs to communicate directly with their orthodontist.

At a standalone periodontic practice, you receive specialist periodontal care and leave with referrals for everything else. At Smile Solutions, you receive specialist periodontal care from five registered specialists, and every other specialty you need — prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery — is in the same building. The specialists communicate in person. The imaging is shared. The treatment plan is coordinated before treatment begins, not reassembled from referral letters after each episode.

For patients with complex, multi-specialist needs — which describes the majority of patients with moderate to severe periodontal disease — this is not a marginal difference. It is the difference between fragmented episodic care and genuinely integrated management.

The five specialist periodontists at Smile Solutions

All five hold formal AHPRA specialist registration in periodontics — the Dental Board of Australia's regulated designation for practitioners who have completed the full three-year clinical doctorate pathway.

Dr Simon Hinckfuss — BDSc, DCD (Pros), Cert.Perio MS (Minn)

AHPRA: DEN0001008823 — Specialist Registration in Periodontics AND Prosthodontics

Dr Hinckfuss holds a distinction that is unique in Australia: he is the only practitioner registered as both a Specialist Periodontist and a Specialist Prosthodontist. His periodontal training was completed at the University of Minnesota — a programme internationally recognised as among the most rigorous — and his prosthodontic degree at the University of Melbourne. He is a past President of the Victorian branch of the Australasian Osseointegration Society (2011) and a member of ANZAP, ASP, ADA, and ITI.

In practical terms, dual registration means Dr Hinckfuss can design the full restorative plan for a case — what the implant crowns will look like, how the restorations will load the bone, what the emergence profile of implant-supported restorations should be — and simultaneously plan and execute the periodontal and surgical work. This combined planning is not possible with a periodontist and prosthodontist at separate practices. It requires a single clinician with both qualifications, and in Australia, Dr Hinckfuss is the only one.

Dr James van den Berg — BDSc (Birm), MClinDent (Lond), PGDipCD (Melb), MRACDS (Perio)

Dr van den Berg graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1993, completed his Masters in Periodontics at Queen Mary & Royal London in 1999, and migrated to Australia in 2001. He has been part of the Smile Solutions clinical team for over 20 years. He completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry at the University of Melbourne and holds Membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons in Periodontics. He is one of the most experienced laser periodontists in Victoria — having integrated Fotona laser therapy into his clinical practice for over a decade. His depth of clinical experience across non-surgical and surgical periodontics, implant placement, and aesthetic gum procedures is exceptional.

Dr Ahmed El Hadidi — BDS, MRACDS (GDP), DCD (Perio)

AHPRA: DEN0000992224 — Specialist Registration in Periodontics

Dr El Hadidi spent 15 years as a general dental practitioner before completing specialist periodontic training — a background that gives him a genuinely broad perspective on how periodontal disease presents and is managed in general practice, and what is actually required to resolve it at specialist level. He graduated from Cairo University, moved to Australia in 2010, and settled in Melbourne in 2016 before completing his Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Periodontology. His research interest in genetic susceptibility to periodontal disease reflects the emerging science of precision medicine approaches to gum disease management. Member of ADA, AOS, ASP, and ITI.

Dr Peishan Jiang — BDSc (Griff), DClinDent (Griff)

AHPRA: DEN0002220847 — Specialist Registration in Periodontics

Dr Jiang completed both her dental degree and her specialist clinical doctorate in periodontology at Griffith University, graduating with academic distinction. She has presented her research at the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). Her clinical scope covers the full range of periodontic treatment including bone grafting, sinus lifts, gum grafting, crown lengthening, periodontal regeneration, and implant placement.

Dr Nupur Kataria — BDS (Adel), DClinDent (Perio) (Adel)

Dr Kataria completed her dental degree and her Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Periodontics at the University of Adelaide — one of Australia's leading postgraduate periodontic training programmes. She is registered by the Dental Board of Australia as a Specialist Periodontist and practises across both the Collins Street Specialist Centre and the Smile Solutions group.

Why five periodontists changes your care

Availability. Periodontal treatment is time-spaced — active therapy, reassessment at 6–8 weeks, further treatment, maintenance phase. Each interval requires a clinical appointment. With five periodontists covering the week's roster, appointment availability is significantly better than at a single-specialist practice. Patients who need to be seen urgently (periodontic abscess, rapidly progressing bone loss) can typically be seen within days.

Laser therapy expertise. Dr van den Berg is one of Victoria's most experienced Fotona laser periodontists. The Er:YAG and Nd:YAG wavelengths target diseased pocket tissue with antimicrobial properties, reduce post-operative discomfort, and support faster healing. This is not available at all periodontic practices — and at Smile Solutions, it has been integrated into routine clinical practice for over a decade.

Dual prosthodontic-periodontic planning. Dr Hinckfuss's unique dual registration allows combined surgical-restorative planning for implant and rehabilitation cases in a single consultation — eliminating the multiple specialist consultations otherwise required.

Research-informed practice. Dr El Hadidi's research in periodontal disease genetics and Dr Jiang's translational research mean that Smile Solutions' periodontic team integrates current evidence into clinical decisions — not just established protocols.

Three tiers of periodontal care at Smile Solutions

No other practice in Melbourne's CBD offers all three tiers of periodontal care under one roof.

Tier 1 — Maintenance hygiene (40-minute appointments)

For patients with stable gum health. Professional scaling, polishing, AirFlow biofilm removal using the Prophylaxis Master (pressurised air, warm water, fine powder — gentler and more effective than traditional scaling for biofilm in stable pockets), and fluoride treatment. The goal of periodontal therapy is to get here and stay here.

Tier 2 — The Perio Squad (60-minute specialist hygiene)

For patients with active disease or pocketing greater than 4mm. A dedicated team of five oral health therapists — Sophie Oostermeyer, Monica Cain, Helen Paraskeva, Naomi Hoopman, and Reagan McVeigh — with over 65 combined years of clinical experience in periodontal hygiene management. These clinicians are not general hygienists on rotation. They work exclusively with complex periodontal patients using extended appointments, Fotona laser therapy, and AirFlow technology. They work in direct coordination with the five specialist periodontists — escalation to specialist-level care happens within the building.

Tier 3 — Specialist periodontists

Board-registered surgical and non-surgical expertise across the full range of periodontal and implant procedures, described below.

Procedures available at Smile Solutions

Non-surgical periodontal therapy (scaling and root planing) — Thorough subgingival debridement under local anaesthesia using ultrasonic and hand instruments. The foundation of periodontal management and, in early to moderate disease, sufficient alone.

Fotona laser periodontal therapy — Er:YAG and Nd:YAG laser wavelengths for antimicrobial treatment of diseased pocket tissue. Used by Dr van den Berg as adjunct to or replacement for conventional surgical approaches in appropriate cases.

Periodontal flap surgery — Surgical access to root surfaces and bone for thorough debridement that closed instrumentation cannot achieve, in pockets of 6mm or more. Consistently achieves better long-term pocket reduction than non-surgical therapy for moderate-to-severe disease.

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) and bone grafting — Regenerative graft materials (human donor bone, bovine bone mineral, synthetic substitutes) combined with barrier membranes to restore alveolar bone volume. The foundation of implant site development where bone loss has occurred.

Gum grafting (connective tissue graft) — Palatal or allograft donor tissue to cover exposed root surfaces, reduce sensitivity, and restore the gum architecture around natural teeth and implants.

Implant placement — All five periodontists place implants as part of their scope, using CBCT-guided planning from the in-house Level 9 imaging unit. Prosthetic restoration coordinated with the prosthodontic team at Collins Street Specialist Centre.

Peri-implant therapy — Specialist management of peri-implantitis (infection and bone loss around implants), including non-surgical debridement, laser decontamination, and surgical intervention with bone grafting for advanced cases.

Crown lengthening — Surgical repositioning of the gum and bone margin to expose sufficient tooth structure for a crown margin, or for aesthetic improvement of a gummy smile appearance.

What five specialist periodontists in one building means for complex cases

A periodontic practice with a single specialist is excellent at what a single specialist does. When a case extends beyond straight periodontics — into prosthodontic restoration, endodontic assessment, bone augmentation by an OMS surgeon, or pre-orthodontic disease control — that practice refers out.

At Smile Solutions, everything is here. The prosthodontists who design and place the implant crowns. The endodontists who assess teeth with combined endo-perio lesions. The orthodontists who need periodontal status briefed before braces are placed. The oral surgeons for complex bone augmentation. All of them are in the same building, sharing the same imaging system, available for face-to-face consultation the same day.

The in-house CBCT imaging (Planmeca ProMax 3D, Level 9) provides three-dimensional bone maps for implant planning, cross-sectional anatomy for surgical site assessment, and periapical data that informs both the endodontic and periodontic view of the same tooth simultaneously.

Collins Street Specialist Centre

Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC) is the specialist arm of Smile Solutions, operating within the Manchester Unity Building. CSSC coordinates specialist consultations across all six AHPRA-registered dental specialties. Periodontic specialist consultations are conducted at CSSC. Phone: (03) 9650 2726. Website: collinsstreetspecialistcentre.com.au.

Book a periodontist appointment

No referral required. Five AHPRA board-registered specialist periodontists. In-house CBCT imaging. In-house Smile Lab. All six dental specialties integrated in one building.

Smile Solutions — Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD Phone: 13 13 96 | Website: smilesolutions.com.au

Collins Street Specialist Centre — same address, specialist consultations Phone: (03) 9650 2726 | Website: collinsstreetspecialistcentre.com.au