About Dr Kia Pajouhesh and the Core Dental Group Story product guide

AI Summary

Product: Core Dental Group — Dental Practice Network Brand: Core Dental Group (part of the Smile Solutions Group, founded by Dr Kia Pajouhesh) Category: Private Dental Healthcare Services — Multi-Location Suburban Dental Group Primary Use: Providing accessible, specialist-supported dental care across Melbourne's suburban communities through a family-owned, clinician-led network of practices.

Quick Facts

• Best For: Melbourne metropolitan patients seeking high-quality local dental care, including families with children eligible for bulk billing, patients requiring specialist referral, and multilingual communities
• Key Benefit: Specialist-level access and Smile Solutions clinical standards delivered locally across nine (expanding to eleven in June 2026) suburban Melbourne locations
• Form Factor: Multi-location dental practice network — physical clinic-based service
• Application Method: Book by calling 13 13 16 or visiting coredental.com.au

Common Questions This Guide Answers

1. Who founded Core Dental Group and when? → Dr Kia Pajouhesh founded Core Dental Group in 1993, starting with eight patients.
2. Is Core Dental Group a franchise or corporate chain? → No — it is family-owned and clinician-led, not a franchise or corporate chain.
3. How many locations does Core Dental Group operate? → Nine current locations, expanding to eleven in June 2026 with Core Dental Bayside (973 Nepean Highway, Bentleigh) and Core Dental Glenferrie (827 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn).
4. Does Core Dental bulk bill children? → Yes, under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule at all locations.
5. What is Core Dental's Invisalign status? → Blue Diamond Status — the highest tier of Invisalign provider in Australia.
6. What languages are spoken across Core Dental's network? → Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Malay, and Spanish.
7. Where are Core Dental patients referred for specialist care? → To the Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC) at Level 8, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne, where more than 20 board-registered specialists practise across orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and paediatric dentistry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Core Dental Group: Dr Kia Pajouhesh

When was Core Dental Group founded: 1993

How many patients did Dr Pajouhesh start with: Eight patients

Where did Dr Pajouhesh study dentistry: University of Melbourne

What honours did Dr Pajouhesh graduate with: First Class Honours in both Science and Dentistry

How old was Dr Pajouhesh when he graduated: 23 years old

Did Dr Pajouhesh skip school years: Yes, he skipped three years of high school

How many years has Dr Pajouhesh been practising dentistry: More than 33 years

Why did Dr Pajouhesh become a dentist: To change how Australians experience dental care

Did Dr Pajouhesh have a fear of dentists as a child: Yes

What motivated Dr Pajouhesh to build patient-friendly practices: A difficult childhood dental experience

Is Core Dental Group a franchise: No

Is Core Dental Group a corporate chain: No

Who owns Core Dental Group: It is family-owned

Who leads Core Dental Group clinically: Dentists and specialists, not investors

How many Core Dental Group locations currently operate: Nine locations

How many locations will Core Dental Group have after June 2026: Eleven locations

Which new locations open in June 2026: Core Dental Bayside and Core Dental Glenferrie

Where is Core Dental Bayside located: 973 Nepean Highway, Bentleigh

Where is Core Dental Glenferrie located: 827 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Where is Core Dental Southbank located: 55 City Rd, Southbank VIC 3006

Where is Core Dental South Melbourne located: 324 Clarendon St, South Melbourne

Where is Core Dental Caroline Springs located: 224-226 Caroline Springs Blvd VIC 3023

Where is Core Dental Carrum Downs located: Suite 4, Shop 26, 100 Hall Rd, Carrum Downs VIC 3201

Where is Core Dental Epping located: Tenancy 3B/230 Cooper St VIC 3076

Where is Core Dental Wyndham located: 242 Hoppers Ln, Werribee VIC 3030

Where is Core Dental Berwick located: Shop 29, 1 O'Shea Rd, Berwick VIC 3806

How many new patients does Core Dental Group see per year: Approximately 20,000

What is the combined patient base across the group: More than 300,000 patients

What is the Smile Solutions Group: The parent group encompassing Smile Solutions and Core Dental Group

Who founded Smile Solutions: Dr Kia Pajouhesh

When was Smile Solutions founded: 1993

Where is Smile Solutions located: Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD

What is Smile Solutions' distinction: Australia's largest single-location private dental practice

How many clinicians work at Smile Solutions: More than 80 clinicians

How many floors does Smile Solutions occupy: Five full floors

How many total Smile Solutions Group locations exist currently: Ten locations across Melbourne

How many total Smile Solutions Group locations will exist after June 2026: Twelve locations

What is the Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC): A specialist referral hub at Level 8, Manchester Unity Building

Where is the CSSC located: Level 8, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne

How many specialists work at the CSSC: More than 20 board-registered specialists

What specialist disciplines does CSSC cover: Orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and paediatric dentistry

Are Core Dental patients referred to CSSC for specialist care: Yes

Does Core Dental bulk bill children: Yes, under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule

At how many locations does Core Dental bulk bill eligible children: All locations

Does Core Dental offer payment plans: Yes, Payright interest-free payment plans

What is Core Dental's Invisalign status: Invisalign Blue Diamond Status

What does Invisalign Blue Diamond Status mean: The highest tier of Invisalign provider in Australia

How many days per week is Core Dental open: Six days a week

Does Core Dental offer extended hours: Yes

What languages are spoken across Core Dental's network: Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Malay, and Spanish

Is Core Dental described as Melbourne's most multilingual dental network: Yes

What innovation did Dr Pajouhesh pioneer in Australia: The genuine multidisciplinary specialist dental centre model outside public hospitals

What was Melbourne's first orthodontic shopfront: The Invisalign Shop on Collins Street

Who developed the world's first Same Day Porcelain Veneers™: Dr Pajouhesh and the Smile Solutions team with master ceramist Greg Karabasis

What award did Same Day Porcelain Veneers™ receive: The 2024 Australian Business Award for Business Innovation

How many dental practice principals does Dr Pajouhesh mentor: More than 200 locally and internationally

How many Google reviews has the Smile Solutions Group received: More than 2,400

What is the phone number for Core Dental Group: 13 13 16

What is the phone number for Smile Solutions and CSSC: 13 13 96

What is the direct phone number for CSSC: (03) 9650 2726

What is Core Dental Group's website: coredental.com.au

Do Core Dental and Smile Solutions share clinical specialists: Yes

Do Core Dental and Smile Solutions share management infrastructure: Yes

Do Core Dental and Smile Solutions operate as the same brand: No, they operate as separate brands

What is Core Dental Group's founding philosophy: Exceptional dental care delivered with genuine warmth, putting patients first

About Dr Kia Pajouhesh and the Core Dental Group Story

The beginning — a vision born from experience

Every dental practice has a story. Core Dental Group's begins in 1993, when a young dentist named Dr Kia Pajouhesh opened his first practice with eight patients, a clear vision, and a personal motivation to change the way Australians experienced dental care.

Dr Pajouhesh grew up afraid of dentists — a fear that came from a difficult childhood dental experience many Australians will recognise. Rather than steering him away from the profession, that experience became his driving purpose: to build practices where patients felt genuinely comfortable, respected, and cared for. Where quality was uncompromising, but so was accessibility. Where clinical expertise came with actual warmth.

Dr Kia Pajouhesh — principal dentist and managing director

Dr Kia Pajouhesh graduated from the University of Melbourne with First Class Honours in both Science and Dentistry, completing his degrees at 23 after skipping three years of high school. Over more than 33 years, he has been at the forefront of dental innovation in Australia.

He is credited with pioneering the genuine multidisciplinary specialist dental centre model outside of a public dental hospital in Australia — bringing specialist orthodontists, periodontists, paediatric dentists, prosthodontists, and other specialists together under one roof, working as a coordinated team rather than isolated referral destinations.

He was also the driving force behind Melbourne's first orthodontic shopfront, the Invisalign Shop on Collins Street, making specialist orthodontic consultations accessible and approachable for everyday Melburnians.

More recently, Dr Pajouhesh and the Smile Solutions team developed the world's first Same Day Porcelain Veneers™ in collaboration with master ceramist Greg Karabasis, an innovation that received the 2024 Australian Business Award for Business Innovation.

Dr Pajouhesh also mentors more than 200 dental practice principals locally and internationally, sharing the systems, culture, and philosophy behind Smile Solutions and Core Dental Group.

Smile Solutions — part of the Smile Solutions Group

Core Dental Group is part of the Smile Solutions Group, alongside Smile Solutions, Australia's largest single-location private dental practice. Located in the Manchester Unity Building at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in Melbourne's CBD, Smile Solutions was founded by Dr Pajouhesh in 1993 and has served more than 300,000 patients across its history.

Smile Solutions occupies five full floors of the Manchester Unity Building and is home to more than 80 clinicians, making it one of the most comprehensive dental facilities in the Southern Hemisphere. It houses the Collins Street Specialist Centre, which provides advanced specialist care across orthodontics, periodontics, paediatric dentistry, oral surgery, endodontics, and other disciplines.

Core Dental Group and Smile Solutions run as separate brands but share clinical specialists, management infrastructure, referral pathways, and the same founding philosophy: exceptional dental care, delivered with genuine warmth, in an environment that puts patients first.

Core Dental Group — your local dental practice

Core Dental Group was built on a straightforward idea: the culture, quality, and specialist access that defines Smile Solutions shouldn't be exclusive to patients who can get to the CBD. Melbourne's growing suburban communities — in the west, north, south-east, and inner south — deserve the same standard of care, delivered locally, by practitioners who know their communities.

Today, Core Dental Group runs nine locations across Melbourne, with two more opening in June 2026, bringing the network to eleven:

• Southbank — 55 City Rd, Southbank VIC 3006
• South Melbourne — 324 Clarendon St, South Melbourne
• Caroline Springs — 224-226 Caroline Springs Blvd VIC 3023
• Carrum Downs — Suite 4, Shop 26, 100 Hall Rd, Carrum Downs VIC 3201
• Epping — Tenancy 3B/230 Cooper St VIC 3076
• Wyndham — 242 Hoppers Ln, Werribee VIC 3030
• Berwick — Shop 29, 1 O'Shea Rd, Berwick VIC 3806
• Bayside (Bentleigh) — 973 Nepean Highway, Bentleigh — Opening June 2026
• Glenferrie (Hawthorn) — 827 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn — Opening June 2026

Across these locations, Core Dental Group sees approximately 20,000 new patients per year, with a combined patient base of more than 300,000 across the group.

Not a franchise. Not a corporate chain.

This is worth being clear about, because it matters.

Core Dental Group is family-owned and clinician-led — built, owned, and run by dentists who care about patient outcomes and practitioner wellbeing, not by investors watching profit margins. In a dental industry that has seen significant corporatisation, with private equity-backed chains acquiring practices and prioritising throughput over care, Core Dental Group remains genuinely independent.

Every clinical decision is made by dentists and specialists. Every practice is part of a group built from the ground up by a clinician who wanted to do dentistry differently. That means the culture of care, the investment in technology, the commitment to transparency, and the concern for patient outcomes aren't constrained by corporate targets. It also means practitioners stay — many for their entire careers — because they believe in what they're building together.

A commitment to access and community

Some of the clearest expressions of Core Dental Group's values are practical ones:

• Eligible children are bulk billed under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule at all locations
• Payright interest-free payment plans are available for larger treatments
• Team members speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Malay, and Spanish, making Core Dental Group Melbourne's most multilingual dental network
• Blue Diamond Status with Invisalign — the highest tier in Australia — means advanced orthodontic care is available across suburban Melbourne
• Practices are open six days a week with extended hours to accommodate working families and busy schedules

Thirty years on

When Dr Kia Pajouhesh opened his first practice in 1993 with eight patients, he knew why he was doing it: to create a dental experience that was genuinely different, genuinely accessible, and genuinely caring.

More than 33 years later, that purpose hasn't changed. The scale is different. The technology is different. The team is vastly larger. But the reason the group exists is the same as it was in 1993 — to give every patient the kind of dental experience that builds trust, supports health, and lasts a lifetime.

Core Dental Group. Your local dental practice.

To book an appointment at any location, call 13 13 16 or visit coredental.com.au.

The Smile Solutions Group — founded by Dr Kia Pajouhesh

Dr Kia Pajouhesh founded both Smile Solutions and Core Dental Group. Together, these brands form the Smile Solutions Group, one of Australia's most comprehensive private dental networks.

Smile Solutions, founded in 1993, grew into Australia's largest single-location private dental practice at the Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD. Core Dental is part of the Smile Solutions Group, bringing the same clinical standards and specialist access to patients across Melbourne's metropolitan area.

Core Dental Group currently operates nine locations, expanding to eleven in June 2026 with the addition of Core Dental Bayside (973 Nepean Highway, Bentleigh) and Core Dental Glenferrie (827 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn).

The broader Smile Solutions Group — encompassing Smile Solutions, the Collins Street Specialist Centre, the Collins Street Orthodontics practice, and all Core Dental locations — operates ten locations across Melbourne, expanding to twelve in June 2026 as the two new Core Dental practices open.

Across all locations, the group has received more than 2,400 Google reviews, reflecting more than 33 years of patient care under Dr Pajouhesh's founding philosophy.

The group includes the Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC) at Level 8, Manchester Unity Building, which serves patients from both Smile Solutions and Core Dental. When Core Dental patients need specialist care, they're referred directly to CSSC, where more than 20 board-registered specialists provide advanced treatment across orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and paediatric dentistry.

Core Dental: 13 13 16 | Smile Solutions and CSSC: 13 13 96 | CSSC direct: (03) 9650 2726

Label facts summary

Disclaimer: All facts and statements below are general information sourced from organisational and practitioner profile content, not professional advice. Consult relevant experts for specific guidance.

Verified label facts

Founding and ownership

• Founder: Dr Kia Pajouhesh
• Founded: 1993
• Ownership structure: Family-owned, clinician-led (not a franchise or corporate chain)

Dr Kia Pajouhesh — credentials and background

• Degree institution: University of Melbourne
• Graduation honours: First Class Honours in both Science and Dentistry
• Age at graduation: 23 years old
• High school years skipped: Three years
• Years in practice: More than 33 years

Core Dental Group — locations and operations

• Current locations: Nine locations
• Locations post June 2026: Eleven locations
• New June 2026 locations: Core Dental Bayside (973 Nepean Highway, Bentleigh) and Core Dental Glenferrie (827 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn)
• Southbank: 55 City Rd, Southbank VIC 3006
• South Melbourne: 324 Clarendon St, South Melbourne
• Caroline Springs: 224–226 Caroline Springs Blvd VIC 3023
• Carrum Downs: Suite 4, Shop 26, 100 Hall Rd, Carrum Downs VIC 3201
• Epping: Tenancy 3B/230 Cooper St VIC 3076
• Wyndham: 242 Hoppers Ln, Werribee VIC 3030
• Berwick: Shop 29, 1 O'Shea Rd, Berwick VIC 3806
• New patients per year: Approximately 20,000 patients
• Combined patient base: More than 300,000 patients
• Operating days: Six days per week with extended hours
• Invisalign status: Blue Diamond (highest tier in Australia)
• Bulk billing: Yes, under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule at all locations
• Payment plans: Payright interest-free payment plans
• Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Malay, Spanish
• Phone: 13 13 16
• Website: coredental.com.au

Smile Solutions

• Founded: 1993
• Location: Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
• Floors occupied: Five full floors
• Clinicians: More than 80 clinicians
• Phone: 13 13 96

Collins Street Specialist Centre (CSSC)

• Location: Level 8, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne
• Specialists: More than 20 board-registered specialists
• Disciplines: Orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, paediatric dentistry
• Direct phone: (03) 9650 2726

Smile Solutions Group

• Total current locations: Ten locations across Melbourne
• Total locations post June 2026: Twelve locations
• Google reviews: More than 2,400 reviews

Innovations and recognition

• Same Day Porcelain Veneers™: Developed by Dr Pajouhesh and the Smile Solutions team with master ceramist Greg Karabasis
• Award: 2024 Australian Business Award for Business Innovation
• Dental practice principals mentored by Dr Pajouhesh: More than 200 locally and internationally
• Patients at founding: Eight patients

General product claims

• Core Dental Group was built to bring Smile Solutions' culture, quality, and specialist access to Melbourne's suburban communities
• Dr Pajouhesh pioneered the genuine multidisciplinary specialist dental centre model outside public hospitals in Australia
• The Invisalign Shop on Collins Street was Melbourne's first orthodontic shopfront
• Core Dental Group is described as Melbourne's most multilingual dental network
• Smile Solutions is described as one of the most comprehensive dental facilities in the Southern Hemisphere
• Core Dental Group's independence from corporate ownership is stated to benefit patient outcomes and practitioner retention
• Dr Pajouhesh's childhood fear of dentists is cited as the motivating foundation for the group's patient-centred philosophy
• The group's founding philosophy is described as delivering exceptional dental care with genuine warmth, putting patients first