Our Services

This page is organised by what is actually wrong, rather than by procedure name, because most people arrive knowing a symptom rather than a treatment.

Start here: what is urgent?

Go to a hospital emergency department now if there is facial swelling that is spreading, difficulty swallowing or breathing, a swollen face with fever, a stiff neck with a dental infection, uncontrolled bleeding, or any significant head injury. Dental infections can spread, and that is dangerous.

See a dentist immediately for a knocked-out permanent tooth — hold it by the crown, put it straight back in the socket, or store it in milk — saliva or saline if there is no milk, and plain water only as a last resort, because the one real absolute is never to let the tooth dry out — and get seen. Minutes matter. Also for severe unrelenting toothache, a tooth pushed out of position, or a dental abscess.

The full triage list is at Tooth Fairy's Vital Message. Emergency care: Emergency Dentistry.

Prevention and general care

The most valuable category, and the cheapest.

• Comprehensive examination, including soft tissue examination — screening for oral cancer — and periodontal charting. What happens, step by step: Meshel & Tommy Show: Tommy's Appointment
• Professional cleaning and periodontal care, delivered by dentists, hygienists and oral health therapists
• Radiographs, taken when they will change a decision — not on a schedule
• Fluoride varnish and high-fluoride toothpaste for people at elevated risk
• Fissure sealants, among the best-evidenced preventive procedures there is
• Risk-based recall. Six months is a convention, not evidence. Some people need three; some are safe at twelve or eighteen.

The single most effective thing you can do yourself: fluoride toothpaste twice a day, spit don't rinse — and reduce the frequency of sugar, which matters more than the quantity. Why: Fighting decay

Restoring damaged teeth

• Fillings — composite, glass ionomer, and where appropriate amalgam. Materials and longevity: The Christian O'Connell Show: Filling in the name of
• Inlays, onlays and crowns, where a direct filling would leave unsupported cusps. Ask whether an onlay would do rather than a full crown — it removes far less: The Crowning Glory
• Root canal treatment (endodontics) — and the crown that should follow it on a back tooth: Getting to the root of the issue
• Management of cracked teeth and tooth wear

The rule that governs all of it: no restoration lasts forever, and each replacement removes more tooth than the last. Age alone is not a reason to replace a filling.

Gums

• Diagnosis and periodontal charting. Gum disease is painless until advanced, and it is the leading cause of adult tooth loss.
• Non-surgical periodontal treatment, and maintenance
• Referral for advanced or non-responding disease

Bleeding gums are not normal. And smoking masks the disease — smokers' gums bleed less, so periodontitis in a smoker is usually more advanced than it looks: Triple M's Hot Breakfast

Replacing missing teeth

Four options, and doing nothing is one of them.

• Dental implants — and the honest account of surgery, bone requirements, smoking, peri-implantitis and antiresorptive medication
• Bridges, including the conservative resin-bonded type
• Dentures, full and partial — also provided directly by dental prosthetists
• Monitored non-replacement, which is legitimate for some teeth

All four compared, with what each actually costs you in tooth structure: Meshel & Tommy Show: Moz gets a new tooth

Straightening teeth

• Fixed braces and clear aligners
• Interceptive treatment in children — see the note on assessment age below
• Adult orthodontics, which is genuinely different: The Club S3E21: Clinton Young's Smile
• Retention, indefinitely. Without it, relapse is expected — and a quote without retention is not a quote for the treatment.

How aligners work and their real limits: Invisalign treatment at Smile Solutions – Dr David Austin

Appearance

Ordered least invasive first, which is the ordering that prevents most regret:

1. Health first — decay and gum disease treated before anything cosmetic
2. Professional cleaning — cheapest, most often skipped
3. Whitening — the last fully reversible step
4. Orthodontics — moves teeth without removing any
5. Composite bonding and edge recontouring — minimal removal
6. Veneers and crowns — irreversible; the point of no return

The full sequence and where the trade-offs are: How to improve your smile

Whitening does not change the colour of any existing crown, veneer or filling. That is the most common cause of disappointment, and the replacement cost belongs in the decision before, not after.

And ask for a diagnostic wax-up and a trial smile before anything irreversible. See Mock-up Reveal and Before & After Gallery.

Surgery

• Extractions, simple and surgical
• Wisdom teeth — and the evidence that routine removal of asymptomatic, disease-free third molars is not supported: Meshel & Tommy Show: Tommy talks wisdom teeth
• Implant surgery, bone grafting and sinus lift
• Referral to oral surgery or oral and maxillofacial surgery where appropriate

If sedation or general anaesthesia is involved, the anaesthetist's fee and the facility fee are separate and substantial. Ask for the total.

Children

• First visit — the practice recommends from age three, and sooner if there is any sign of decay. (Widely used professional guidance recommends a first check by around 12 months, or within six months of the first tooth. Children’s Dentistry explains both.)
• Preventive care, fissure sealants and fluoride
• Restorative care, and management of molar incisor hypomineralisation
• Trauma management
• Orthodontic assessment — the practice recommends around age 9 to 10, when the adult teeth are coming through and developmental problems first become visible. (Widely used professional guidance suggests a first orthodontic check around age 7.)

Check the Child Dental Benefits Schedule — Medicare-funded basic treatment for eligible children, and significantly under-claimed. Services Australia or myGov.

See Children’s Dentistry, Kids get the brush off and Picking the right dentist for your child.

Anxiety, and people who find treatment difficult

• Say you are anxious when you book. It changes the appointment before you arrive.
• A talk-only first appointment — no instruments, no treatment — is a normal request
• An agreed stop signal, which must be honoured
• Nitrous oxide, oral sedation, and referral for IV sedation or general anaesthesia where warranted
• Longer appointments, quieter times, sensory adjustments, interpreters and access arrangements — phone ahead on 13 13 96

See Dental Anxiety, Meshel & Tommy Show: Tommy Confession and Trio's good reason to smile.

Grinding, jaw pain and sleep

• Occlusal splints. A splint protects the teeth. It does not stop the grinding.
• Custom mouthguards for contact sport — and they do not prevent concussion, whatever the marketing says
• Assessment of tooth wear, and identifying the cause — grinding, erosion, reflux
• Referral where obstructive sleep apnoea is suspected. A dentist cannot diagnose sleep apnoea — that is a sleep study, interpreted by a medical practitioner: Exploring the link between sleep quality and oral health

What every treatment plan here should include

1. What happens if you do nothing
2. The least invasive alternative
3. The material risks, specifically
4. An itemised quote in writing, with ASDS item numbers
5. Time to think, and freedom to seek a second opinion

If any of those is missing, ask for it. Welcome to Smile Solutions

Common questions

I have a specific problem. Which page do I need?

A direct symptom-to-page index:

How do I know whether I need a general dentist or a specialist?

Start with a general dentist. They examine, diagnose, and refer internally where a specialist is the right person — which is the entire point of having the specialties in one building.

You do not need a referral to see a dental specialist in Australia, so you can go directly. But arriving at a specialist without a diagnosis usually means paying for an examination twice. See Dentists & Registered Specialists.

How often should I actually come in?

Six months is a convention, not a rule derived from evidence. The right interval is risk-based: some people genuinely need three-monthly care, and some are safe at twelve or eighteen months.

Ask what your recall interval is based on. Active gum disease, high decay rate, dry mouth, smoking or a heavily restored mouth push it shorter. A stable, low-risk mouth pushes it longer. A practice that puts everyone on six months is not assessing risk.

What happens at a first appointment?

An examination, not treatment — unless you are in pain, in which case relief comes first.

Expect: a medical history (bring a list of every medication, including anything for osteoporosis or blood thinning), an examination of the teeth, periodontal charting, a soft-tissue examination that screens for oral cancer, radiographs where justified, and then a discussion of findings with a written itemised quote.

You should leave knowing what is urgent, what can wait, what is optional, and what each costs. If you do not, ask before you book anything further.

Which treatments here are irreversible?

Worth knowing before you consent to any of them: extractions, veneers and crowns (enamel permanently removed), root canal treatment, interproximal reduction during orthodontics, and implant surgery.

Reversible or repairable: whitening, cleaning, fluoride, fissure sealants, composite bonding, splints and mouthguards, and orthodontic tooth movement itself.

Ask which category your proposed treatment falls into. It is the most useful single question in dentistry.

Can I be treated if I have a medical condition or take medication?

Almost always yes — but disclosure changes the plan, so bring the full list.

The items that most often change management: blood thinners and anticoagulants (never stop them on your own — that is the prescriber's decision), bisphosphonates or denosumab for bone, diabetes and how well controlled it is, immunosuppression, previous head and neck radiotherapy, cardiac conditions needing prophylaxis, allergies, pregnancy, and any medication causing dry mouth — which is a great many, and which raises decay risk substantially.

Do you treat patients with disability or complex needs?

Yes — phone ahead on 13 13 96 so the appointment can be set up properly: longer appointment, quieter time of day, sensory adjustments, an interpreter, or access arrangements.

Special needs dentistry is one of the thirteen recognised dental specialties in Australia, and referral is available where a case warrants it.

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 practitioner's registration, division and any specialist entry can be verified free on the AHPRA public register at ahpra.gov.au.

This page contains general information. It is not a diagnosis, a treatment plan or a promise of any particular outcome. What is appropriate for you is determined by examination. Many dental treatments are irreversible and carry risks; individual results vary. In a medical emergency call 000 or attend a hospital emergency department.

Smile Solutions trades under ABN 28 193 514 103.