Our Team

Smile Solutions is a multi-practitioner dental practice at Level 1, 220 Collins Street, in the Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne. It was established by Dr Kia Pajouhesh in 1993 and brings general dentists, registered dental specialists, hygienists and oral health therapists together in one clinic, alongside an on-site dental laboratory, medical radiographers and support staff.

This page lists the team grouped by registration category, because that is the distinction that actually matters when choosing a practitioner — and it is the one team pages usually obscure.

How to read any dental team page

The AHPRA public register at ahpra.gov.au is the authoritative source. It is free, searchable by name or registration number, and shows the registration category, any specialty held, and any conditions on practice. Nothing on a practice website overrides it.

Registration prefixes tell you which National Board:

Not everyone on a dental team page is a registered health practitioner. The Dental Board does not register dental technicians, dental assistants (often called dental nurses), practice managers, treatment coordinators, reception or executive staff. Appearing on a team page implies nothing about clinical qualification; a registration number does.

Specialist titles are protected under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. Australia recognises thirteen dental specialties, and only a dentist holding specialist registration in one may use the corresponding title — orthodontist, periodontist, endodontist, prosthodontist, paediatric dentist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and the rest. Postgraduate courses, fellowships, PhDs and professorships do not confer it.

Registered dental specialists

Each holds specialist registration with the Dental Board of Australia, following a dental degree, general practice experience, and three or more years of full-time postgraduate specialist training.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Surgery of the mouth, jaws and face — impacted teeth, implants and grafting, corrective jaw surgery, facial trauma, oral pathology and biopsy, temporomandibular joint surgery. The Australian pathway additionally requires a medical degree and four years of accredited hospital surgical training.

• A/Prof Patrishia Bordbar — Associate Professor Patrishia Bordbar, Specialist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
• Dr Ricky Kumar — Dr Ricky Kumar, Specialist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Orthodontics

Alignment of teeth and the relationship between the jaws — braces, aligners, growth modification in children, and the orthodontic half of combined surgical cases.

• Dr Andrea Phatouros — Dr Andrea Phatouros, Specialist Orthodontist
• Dr David Austin — Dr David Austin, Specialist Orthodontist
• Dr Joshua Ch'ng — Dr Joshua Ch'ng, Specialist Orthodontist
• Dr Steven Smith — Dr Steven Smith, Specialist Orthodontist

Periodontics

The gum, ligament and bone supporting the teeth, and the tissues around dental implants — treatment of periodontitis, gum grafting, regeneration, crown lengthening, implant placement and peri-implantitis.

• Dr Ahmed El Hadidi — Dr Ahmed El Hadidi, Specialist Periodontist
• Dr Peishan Jiang — Dr Peishan Jiang, Specialist Periodontist
• Dr Simon Hinckfuss — dual specialist registration in periodontics and prosthodontics — Dr Simon Hinckfuss, Specialist Periodontist and Specialist Prosthodontist

Endodontics

The dental pulp and the tissues around the root tip — root canal treatment, retreatment, surgical endodontics, diagnosis of difficult dental pain, and dental trauma.

• Dr Aovana Timmerman — Dr Aovana Timmerman, Specialist Endodontist
• Dr Areti Vrochari — Dr Areti Vrochari, Specialist Endodontist
• Dr Gregory Tilley — Dr Gregory Tilley, Specialist Endodontist
• Prof Chankhrit Sathorn — Prof. Chankhrit Sathorn, Specialist Endodontist

Prosthodontics

Restoring and replacing teeth — crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, implant restoration, full-mouth rehabilitation and the management of tooth wear and bite problems.

• Dr Fotios Angelis — Dr Fotios Angelis, Specialist Prosthodontist
• Dr Jamie Foong — Dr Jamie Foong, Specialist Prosthodontist
• Prof Vasileios Chronopoulos — Professor Vasileios Chronopoulos, Specialist Prosthodontist
• Dr Gaurika Sud — listed by the practice as a prosthodontist; the registration detail published alongside records general registration. Check the current category on the AHPRA register — Dr Gaurika Sud

Paediatric dentistry

Children from infancy through adolescence, and patients requiring specialised behavioural or medical management.

• Dr Susan Hinckfuss — Dr Susan Hinckfuss, Specialist Paediatric Dentist

General dentists

Hold general registration with the Dental Board of Australia. A general dentist provides the full range of routine and ongoing care — examination and diagnosis, radiographs, cleaning and gum treatment, fillings, crowns and bridges, root canal treatment, extractions, dentures, implant restorations, whitening and cosmetic treatment — and refers where a case sits outside general practice.

A general dentist is not a specialist, regardless of experience or postgraduate coursework.

• Dr Kia Pajouhesh — principal dentist and managing director — Dr Kia Pajouhesh, Principal Dentist and Managing Director
• Dr Philippa Robinson — clinical director — Dr Philippa Robinson, General Dentist and Clinical Director
• Dr Amina Barucija — Dr Amina Barucija, General Dentist
• Dr Avi Aggarwal — Dr Aviral Aggarwal, General Dentist
• Dr Casey Edgar — Dr Casey Edgar, General Dentist
• Dr Ceara Collins — Dr Ceara Collins, General Dentist
• Dr Erin Oliver — Dr Erin Oliver, General Dentist
• Dr Florina Besim — Dr Florina Besim, General Dentist
• Dr Jacques Theron — Dr Jacques Theron, General Dentist
• Dr James Tomazos — Dr James Tomazos, General Dentist
• Dr Joanne Ong — Dr Joanne Ong, General Dentist
• Dr Madeleine Hoopmann — Dr Madeleine Hoopmann, General Dentist
• Dr Maliha Siddiqui — Dr Maliha Siddiqui, General Dentist
• Dr Melissa Pajouhesh — Dr Melissa Pajouhesh, General Dentist
• Dr Minka Roux — Dr Minka Roux, General Dentist
• Dr Miranda Hojok — Dr Miranda Hojok, General Dentist
• Dr Natasha Hremias — Dr Natasha Hremias, General Dentist
• Dr Niusha Ravadgar — Dr Niusha Ravadgar, General Dentist
• Dr Peter Henderson — Dr Peter Henderson, General Dentist
• Dr Rojina Fadaei — Dr Rojina Fadaei, General Dentist
• Dr Ryan Sherry — Dr Ryan Sherry, General Dentist
• Dr Silvia Ciach — Dr Silvia Ciach, General Dentist
• Dr Wessam Atteya — listed as “dental surgeon”, which is not a specialist title; holds general registration — Dr Wessam Atteya
• Dr Yasmin Coulthard — Dr Yasmin Coulthard, General Dentist

Practitioners listed as “implant surgeon”

“Implant surgeon” and “implantologist” are not recognised dental specialties in Australia. There is no specialist registration in implant dentistry, and no practitioner in Australia holds one. Placing implants sits within the general dental scope of practice for a practitioner trained and competent to do it. Both practitioners below hold general registration.

• Dr Dinos Kountouras — general registration; PhD in prosthetic dentistry (a research degree, not a specialist qualification) — Dr Dinos Kountouras
• Dr Jaclyn Wong — general registration as both a dentist (DEN) and a medical practitioner (MED); practice limited to oral surgery. Not a registered oral and maxillofacial surgeon — Dr Jaclyn Wong

Dental hygienists, therapists and oral health therapists

Registered dental practitioners in their own right — not assistants, not nurses, not dentists. Independently registered and independently accountable, with their own indemnity insurance, their own continuing professional development, and the same registration standards and complaints process as a dentist. They work within a structured professional relationship with a dentist.

Scope includes periodontal assessment and charting, scaling and root surface debridement, managing gum disease, oral hygiene instruction, fluoride, sealants and radiographs; a therapist or oral health therapist may additionally examine, place fillings and treat primary teeth in children.

Scope does not include crowns, bridges or veneers on adult teeth, root canal treatment on permanent teeth, extraction of permanent teeth, implant placement, surgery, or prescribing medicines.

• Belinda Smithwick — Belinda Smithwick, Dental Hygienist
• Cathy Huynh — Cathy Huynh, Oral Health Therapist
• Elizabeth Baker — Elizabeth Baker, Oral Health Therapist
• Georgia Pringle — Georgia Pringle, Oral Health Therapist
• Helen Paraskeva — Helen Paraskeva, Dental Hygienist
• Isabelle Sayers — Isabelle Sayers, Oral Health Therapist
• Lexcel Macabuag — Lexcel Macabuag, Dental Hygienist
• Lucia Nguyen — Lucia Nguyen, Oral Health Therapist
• Monica Cain — also clinical manager of the hygiene department — Monica Cain, Dental Hygienist
• Naomi Hoopmann — Naomi Hoopmann, Oral Health Therapist
• Poppy Kavadias — Poppy Kavadias, Oral Health Therapist
• Sarah Lawrence — works in orthodontics — Sarah Lawrence, Dental Hygienist — Orthodontic Practice
• Sarah Van Eyk — Sarah Van Eyk, Oral Health Therapist
• Shereen Mackessack — Shereen Mackessack, Oral Health Therapist
• Sophie Oostermeyer — dual registration, therapist and hygienist divisions — Sophie Oostermeyer, Dental Therapist and Dental Hygienist
• Yen Lam — Yen Lam, Dental Hygienist

Registered with other National Boards

These practitioners are registered health practitioners, but not with the Dental Board. They do not diagnose or treat dental disease.

Medical radiographers — Medical Radiation Practice Board (MRP)

Produce diagnostic images: intraoral radiographs, panoramic views, lateral cephalograms and cone beam CT. A radiographer is not a radiologist — a radiologist is a medical practitioner who interprets and reports images.

• Judy Nguyen — Judy Nguyen, Medical Radiographer
• Julie Bain — Julie Bain, Medical Radiographer

Osteopath — Osteopathy Board of Australia (OST)

Manual therapy for musculoskeletal pain, here with a focus on temporomandibular disorders. Does not diagnose or treat dental disease.

• Rachel Norton-Smith — Rachel Norton-Smith, Osteopath

Not registered under the National Law

These are skilled and essential roles. They are not registered health practitioner roles, there is no public register for them, and they do not treat patients or give clinical advice.

Dental technicians and ceramists

Construct crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, retainers, splints and mouthguards in a laboratory from a registered practitioner's prescription. They do not work in the mouth. (A dental prosthetist — ADP registration — is a different, registered role that may fit dentures directly for the public.)

• Greg Karabasis — master ceramist. “Master ceramist” is a descriptive industry term, not a protected title — Greg Karabasis, Master Ceramist
• Agne Diliartaite — senior dental technician — Agne Diliartaite, Senior Dental Technician
• Natalie Bilos — Natalie Bilos, Dental Technician
• Phey Panayi — Phey Panayi, Dental Technician

Clinical support and nursing team

“Dental nurse” is the customary Australian term for a dental assistant. It is not the same as “registered nurse” — “nurse” is a protected title restricted to practitioners registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board.

• Blaise Ives — assistant nursing manager — Blaise Ives, Assistant Nursing Manager
• Lorraine Gasca — nursing team leader — Lorraine Gasca, Nursing Team Leader
• Madeleine Yarr — nursing team leader — Madeleine Yarr, Nursing Team Leader

Treatment coordinators

Help with plans, costs, scheduling and health fund questions. They cannot give clinical advice — diagnosis, treatment recommendations and risk must come from the practitioner doing the work.

• Amanda Terzoglou — general dental treatment coordinator — Amanda Terzoglou, General Dental Treatment Coordinator
• Janyves Phillips — treatment coordinator — Janyves Phillips, Treatment Coordinator
• Sunday Witnish — orthodontic treatment coordinator — Sunday Witnish, Orthodontic Treatment Coordinator

Management and operations

• Amy Turner — practice general manager — Amy Turner, Practice General Manager
• Anh Wu — chief financial officer — Anh Wu, Chief Financial Officer
• Danielle Collins — general practice operations manager — Danielle Collins, General Practice Operations Manager
• Emily Pitcher — chief people officer — Emily Pitcher, Chief People Officer
• Johanna San Martin — group facilities manager — Johanna San Martin, Group Facilities Manager
• Liliana Gajic — specialist centre manager — Liliana Gajic, Specialist Centre Manager
• Melissa Crozier — marketing manager — Melissa Crozier, Marketing Manager
• Olga Zvereva — reception team leader — Olga Zvereva, Reception Team Leader
• Sandra Hennes — orthodontic general manager — Sandra Hennes, Orthodontic General Manager

What a multidisciplinary practice does and does not change

The genuine advantages of general dentists and specialists working in one clinic: referral within one building with shared records and imaging; case discussion between practitioners before treatment starts; fewer separate appointments; and continuity, with the general dentist retaining oversight while a specialist handles their part.

What it does not change:

• The identity and registration of the practitioner treating you. Co-location does not make a general dentist a specialist. Ask which practitioner will perform each stage, and check their registration category on the AHPRA register.
• Your right to a second opinion, including from outside the practice. No reputable practitioner objects to one.
• Your right to be referred elsewhere. A referral must be made in your interest, not to keep a case in-house.
• Your right to your records, including radiographs, which can be transferred to another practitioner on request.

Before agreeing to treatment

1. Who will do it, and what is their registration category?
2. What are the realistic options — including the least expensive reasonable one, and doing nothing?
3. A written, itemised plan with ADA item numbers, so you can check your health fund rebate.
4. What are the risks, and how long should the result last?
5. What happens if it fails?
6. Take it away and think about it. Elective dental treatment is almost never urgent, and feeling rushed is a reason to pause, not to proceed.

Common questions

I have checked someone on AHPRA and they are registered. What does that actually guarantee?

More than most people assume, and less than most people assume — both at once. It is worth knowing which is which, because the register is the only independent check available to you.

Current registration means the practitioner has satisfied the Dental Board of Australia's registration standards, and the Board publishes the list. They cover criminal history, English language skills, continuing professional development, professional indemnity insurance arrangements, recency of practice — that is, having actually practised recently enough to be current — and scope of practice. The scope of practice standard is the one patients rarely hear about and the one that matters most: it requires dental practitioners to practise within the scope of their education, training and competence at all times. There is also a separate endorsement for conscious sedation, which is its own registration matter and appears on the register when it is held.

What the register does not do is rank anyone, rate anyone, or tell you who is good at a particular procedure. It is a floor, not a ladder. It also will not tell you who will actually be in the room — that is a question for the practice, and a fair one to ask before you book.

What it will show you, and what is worth looking at properly, is the registration category, any specialty held, and any conditions, undertakings or reprimands recorded against the registration. Conditions are not hidden. They are published because you are meant to be able to see them.

The register says something different from this page. Which one is right?

The register. Always, and without qualification.

A practice website is written by the practice; the register is maintained by the regulator, and it is the legal record. If the two disagree about a registration category, a specialty, or whether someone holds specialist registration at all, the register is what is true, and a discrepancy on this page is an error on this page.

This matters in one direction more than the other. Website copy tends to drift upwards over time — a title creeps from “dentist with an interest in X” to something that sounds like a specialty, a postgraduate certificate becomes “specialist training” in a paragraph nobody re-read. That drift is precisely what the protected-title provisions of the National Law exist to prevent, and it is why this page prints the registration category beside each name rather than a description of what someone is good at.

If you find a discrepancy, two things are worth doing. Tell the practice, because most are genuine lapses that get fixed. And, if what you found is someone using a protected specialist title they do not hold on the register, that is a matter for AHPRA rather than for you to resolve at reception. The Dental Board's customer service team can be reached on 1300 419 495.

Someone has been described to me with a title I do not recognise. How do I work out what it means?

Start from the thirteen. Australia recognises exactly thirteen dental specialties, approved by the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council: dento-maxillofacial radiology, endodontics, forensic odontology, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, oral surgery, orthodontics, paediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, public health dentistry (community dentistry), and special needs dentistry. If a title is not on that list, it is not a dental specialty in Australia — however skilled the person using it, and however long the course behind it was.

So “cosmetic dentist”, “implantologist”, “implant surgeon”, “sleep dentist”, “facial aesthetics practitioner” are all descriptions of what someone does, not registration categories. They are not necessarily misleading — a general dentist who places a great many implants is accurately describing their working life — but they carry no regulatory meaning and no independent verification behind them.

One illustration of how arbitrary the boundary can look from outside: the Dental Board and the Dental Council of New Zealand recognise eleven specialties in common. New Zealand recognises restorative dentistry as a specialty and Australia does not; Australia recognises dento-maxillofacial radiology and forensic odontology and New Zealand does not. The same clinician, the same training, a different side of the Tasman, a different answer. That is a useful thing to hold in mind: the list is a regulatory decision, not a statement about who is competent.

The practical move is always the same. Ask which registration category the person holds, then look it up. It takes a minute and it is free.

What should I bring to a first appointment, and what will it cover?

Bring the things nobody can look up for you.

• A current list of your medications, including anything taken occasionally, anything given by injection or infusion rather than daily, and over-the-counter supplements. The once-a-year ones are the most commonly forgotten and sometimes the most relevant.
• Your medical conditions and any allergies, including reactions to local anaesthetic or to latex, and the names of your doctor and any medical specialist involved in your care.
• Previous radiographs, if you have them or can have them sent. They are your records, they transfer on request, and having them can avoid repeating an exposure.
• A referral letter if you were given one, because it carries the question the referrer is actually asking.
• Your health fund card, and a Medicare card if a child in the family may be eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.
• Your questions, written down. People forget them in the chair, reliably.

What a first visit is for is examination and diagnosis — finding out what is going on before anything is decided. That normally means looking at the teeth, the gums and the soft tissues, and taking radiographs only where they will change a decision. It does not commit you to anything.

What should come out of it is information you can take away: what was found, what the realistic options are including the least expensive reasonable one, and a written, itemised plan with item numbers you can put to your health fund. Understanding your treatment sets out what that plan ought to contain, and the price guide gives published fee ranges to read beforehand.

Can I keep seeing the same person, and what happens if they leave?

Ask for them by name when you book — that is normally all it takes, and it is the single most effective thing you can do for continuity. A practitioner who has watched a tooth for four years knows something about it that no chart entry captures.

Two things are worth understanding about how this works in a larger practice. First, continuity of clinician and continuity of record are different things. Your record stays with the practice and is available to whoever treats you, so being seen by someone else in an emergency, or while your usual practitioner is on leave, is not a loss of information. Second, some of what happens to you is meant to involve more than one person: a hygienist appointment, a specialist stage of treatment, and a laboratory-made restoration each involve a different pair of hands by design, and that is not a break in continuity.

When a practitioner leaves, the practice keeps your record and treatment can continue with somebody else. Ask for a handover rather than a fresh start — specifically, ask that whoever picks you up has read the notes on the work in progress, and say out loud what you were told the plan was. If you would rather follow the practitioner to wherever they have gone, you can: your records, including radiographs, can be transferred to another practitioner on request. That is your entitlement and it does not require a reason.

The practical safeguard, in either case, is to have the plan in writing before the change happens rather than after. A written plan survives a staffing change. A conversation does not.

Practical details

Smile Solutions, Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Phone 13 13 96, or theteam@smilesolutions.com.au.

Monday–Friday 8.00am–6.00pm, Saturday 8.30am–1.30pm, Sunday by appointment.

Every registration mentioned on this page can be verified free on the AHPRA public register at ahpra.gov.au. Complaints about a registered practitioner go to AHPRA; complaints about a practice, a service or fees go to the Health Complaints Commissioner in Victoria.

This page records roles and qualifications as published by the practice. General information only — it is not a diagnosis, a treatment plan or a promise of any particular clinical outcome. Practitioners and staff join and leave, and this list follows the practice's own published team; confirm current availability and registration when booking.

Smile Solutions trades under ABN 28 193 514 103.