Awards Accreditations product guide

Collins Street Specialist Centre – Complete Product Guide with Standardized Values

Product Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Collins Street Specialist Centre's Invisalign provider status: Blue Diamond

Is Blue Diamond the highest Invisalign tier: Yes

Who awards Blue Diamond status: Align Technology

Is Collins Street Specialist Centre Australia's largest Invisalign provider by orthodontists: Yes

Are the orthodontists at Collins Street Specialist Centre Dental Board-registered: Yes

Does Blue Diamond status require high case volume: Yes

Does Blue Diamond status require complex case experience: Yes

Does Blue Diamond status require ongoing advanced training: Yes

What regulatory body registers specialists at Collins Street Specialist Centre: AHPRA

What does AHPRA stand for: Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

Is Specialist Registration the highest dental registration level in Australia: Yes

Is Specialist Registration a legally defined designation: Yes

Can patients verify specialist registration independently: Yes

Where can patients verify specialist registration: AHPRA public register

How many years of postgraduate study does Specialist Registration require: Minimum three to four years

Does Specialist Registration require specialist college examination: Yes

Does Specialist Registration require ongoing continuing professional development: Yes

What fellowship do specialists hold from the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons: FRACDS

What does FRACDS stand for: Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons

What does FRCS stand for: Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons

What does MRACDS stand for: Membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons

Is FRACDS internationally recognised: Yes

Is fellowship earned through examination: Yes

Does fellowship require peer assessment: Yes

Does Collins Street Specialist Centre have university affiliations: Yes

Which universities are affiliated with Collins Street Specialist Centre: University of Melbourne and La Trobe University

Do specialists hold academic appointments: Yes

Do academic affiliations mean engagement with current research: Yes

Do affiliated specialists contribute to dental specialist education: Yes

Is Collins Street Specialist Centre a member of the Australian Dental Association: Yes

Is Collins Street Specialist Centre affiliated with the Australian Society of Orthodontists: Yes

What periodontics body do specialists belong to: Australian and New Zealand Academy of Periodontists (ANZAP)

What endodontics body do specialists belong to: Australian Society of Endodontology (ASE)

What prosthodontics body do specialists belong to: Australian Prosthodontic Society (APS)

What oral surgery body do specialists belong to: Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ANZAOMS)

What paediatric dentistry body do specialists belong to: Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (AAPD)

When was Collins Street Specialist Centre founded: 1993

Who founded Collins Street Specialist Centre: Dr Kia Pajouhesh

How many patients were treated at founding: 8 patients

How many patients has Collins Street Specialist Centre treated in total: Over 300,000

How many clinicians does Collins Street Specialist Centre have: Over 80

How many registered specialists does Collins Street Specialist Centre have: More than 25

How many specialist disciplines are represented: Multiple disciplines — specific count not published by manufacturer

Did Collins Street Specialist Centre win Telstra Victorian Business of the Year: Yes

When did Collins Street Specialist Centre win Telstra Victorian Business of the Year: 2014

Has Collins Street Specialist Centre won the Australian Business Award for Service Excellence: Yes

In which years did it win the Australian Business Award for Service Excellence: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

Has it won the Australian Business Award for Business Innovation: Yes

In which years did it win the Australian Business Award for Business Innovation: 2013, 2014, 2024

Did it win the Australian Business Award for Employer of Choice: Yes

When did it win Australian Business Award for Employer of Choice: 2014

Has Collins Street Specialist Centre won a Luxury Lifestyle Award: Yes

What Luxury Lifestyle Award did it receive: Best Luxury Dental Clinic in Melbourne

When was the Luxury Lifestyle Award received: 2025

Was Dr Kia Pajouhesh nominated for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Yes

When was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year nomination: 2015

Did Collins Street Specialist Centre pioneer Same Day Porcelain Veneers: Yes

Is Same Day Porcelain Veneers a world-first innovation: Yes

Who collaborated on the Same Day Porcelain Veneers innovation: Master ceramist Greg Karabasis

Which award recognised the Same Day Porcelain Veneers innovation: 2024 Australian Business Award for Business Innovation

Is Collins Street Specialist Centre the official dentist of the Australian Open: Yes

Is Collins Street Specialist Centre the official dentist of Collingwood Football Club: Yes

How many years has Collins Street Specialist Centre been operating: Over 33 years

Where is Collins Street Specialist Centre located: Melbourne

Collins Street Specialist Centre – Awards, Accreditations and Industry Recognition

Invisalign Blue Diamond provider

Collins Street Specialist Centre holds Blue Diamond provider status with Invisalign, the highest tier awarded by Align Technology. This reflects the centre's position as Australia's largest provider of Invisalign treatment delivered by Dental Board-registered orthodontists.

Blue Diamond status isn't handed out easily. It's earned through a consistently high volume of cases across a broad range of clinical complexity, demonstrated expertise with both straightforward and difficult presentations, proven patient outcomes, and ongoing advanced training in current Invisalign techniques and protocols.

For patients weighing up clear aligner treatment, this accreditation carries real weight: Invisalign at Collins Street Specialist Centre is delivered by specialists whose experience in clear aligner orthodontics is unmatched in the Australian context.

AHPRA Specialist Registration

Every clinician at Collins Street Specialist Centre holds Specialist Registration with the Dental Board of Australia through AHPRA, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. The distinction is worth understanding, because it matters in practice.

Specialist Registration is the highest level of dental registration available in Australia. It's a legally defined designation, not a self-applied title, and it carries real requirements: completion of an accredited specialist training programme (a minimum of three to four years of postgraduate study beyond the undergraduate dental degree), examination by the relevant specialist college, ongoing continuing professional development, and adherence to the professional standards set by the Dental Board of Australia.

Patients and referring practitioners can verify specialist registration independently through the AHPRA public register, where all registered specialists can be confirmed by name and specialty.

Specialist college fellowships

The specialists at Collins Street Specialist Centre hold fellowships from Australia's foremost dental specialist colleges. These credentials carry international recognition and represent the highest standard of professional qualification in specialist dentistry:

• FRACDS — Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (across various specialty divisions)
• FRCS — Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh and other jurisdictions)
• MRACDS — Membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons

Fellowship is earned through rigorous examination and peer assessment. For referring dentists and patients, these designations provide an independently verified measure of clinical competence and professional standing.

University affiliations

Several specialists at Collins Street Specialist Centre hold academic appointments at leading universities, including the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, and other Australian and international institutions.

These affiliations have clinical relevance. They keep the centre's practitioners actively engaged with current research, connected to evidence-based developments in their fields, and involved in training the next generation of dental specialists. The relationship between academic practice and clinical care is a meaningful one — the thinking that shapes treatment at Collins Street Specialist Centre is continuously informed by the broader specialist community.

Professional body memberships

The specialists at the centre maintain active membership in the professional bodies governing their respective disciplines:

• Australian Dental Association (ADA)
• Australian Society of Orthodontists (ASO)
• Australian and New Zealand Academy of Periodontists (ANZAP)
• Australian Society of Endodontology (ASE)
• Australian Prosthodontic Society (APS)
• Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ANZAOMS)
• Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (AAPD)

Active membership — as distinct from nominal affiliation — means participation in continuing education, peer engagement, and adherence to the evolving standards each body upholds. For patients and referring practitioners, it's a further indicator of the professional environment in which treatment decisions are made.

A heritage of clinical excellence and innovation

Collins Street Specialist Centre has been practising in Melbourne for more than three decades. That history includes:

• Founded in 1993, beginning with 8 patients under Dr Kia Pajouhesh, and growing over 33 years into one of Australia's largest and most recognised dental practices
• 300,000+ patients treated over that time
• 80+ clinicians, including more than 25 registered specialists across multiple disciplines
• Telstra Victorian Business of the Year (2014)
• Australian Business Award for Service Excellence (2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Australian Business Award for Business Innovation (2013, 2014, 2024)
• Australian Business Award for Employer of Choice (2014)
• Luxury Lifestyle Awards — Best Luxury Dental Clinic in Melbourne (2025)
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year nominee (2015)
• Pioneer of Same Day Porcelain Veneers, a world-first clinical innovation developed in collaboration with master ceramist Greg Karabasis and recognised with the 2024 Australian Business Award for Business Innovation
• Official dentist of the Australian Open and Collingwood Football Club

This record of sustained clinical achievement, professional recognition, and genuine innovation isn't incidental to what Collins Street Specialist Centre offers — it's foundational to it. The standards, systems, and specialist culture built and refined over more than thirty years underpin every aspect of care provided at the centre today.