Smiles all round for dental practice named Victorian Business of the Year

Smile Solutions, a one-stop-shop dental practice in Melbourne CBD's historic Manchester Unity building, has been crowned the 2014 Telstra Victorian Business of the Year.

Smile Solutions is Australia's largest private dental practice in one location with a team comprising 46 specialists, general dentists and hygienists or therapists, supported by 45 management and nursing staff, and a patient list of 65,000 people.

Two years after graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1993, Dr Kia Pajouhesh (pictured centre) took over a small Melbourne CBD dental practice with eight patients and named it Smile Solutions.

He moved the business into the Manchester Unity building at Collins and Swanston Streets in 2003 and today he is managing director of a four-level business with a net annual turnover of $18 million that offers general dentistry, orthodontics, dental implants and specialist care.

"I am totally committed to building 'the dental practice of dreams', a practice beyond the imagination of our patients, clinicians, management, administrative and nursing staff - and myself," Dr Pajouhesh said.

According to Dr Pajouhesh, the keys to Smile Solutions' success were a unique "One Team, One Place" business model that has debunked the stereotypes of dentists as unfriendly, uncomfortable and unaffordable. Its special location and diversity of technology ensures treatment efficiency and superior comfort for patients, and also attracts the best clinicians.

"Seamless referrals from one Smile Solutions practitioner to another, each an expert in their own field, ensures optimum service for all dental needs," he said.

Will Irving, Telstra Business Group Managing Director and Ambassador for the Telstra Australian Business Awards, said: "All the winners are brilliant and inspirational businesses whose owners are recognised for their professionalism, innovation, leadership and creative use of technology.

"Smile Solutions has created genuine points of difference - they became the dental practice that has multiple specialists under one roof in the heritage-listed Manchester Unity building.

"The Telstra Awards Judges praised the business for its strong, year on year financial improvement over many years, its sustaining vision of growth and the founder's staff retention mantra that leadership is about taking care of your clinicians and they in turn will take care of your customers," Mr Irving said.

More than $800,000 in prizes will be shared by winners of the 2014 state, territory and national Telstra Business Awards - a program that has celebrated Australian small and medium businesses since 1992.