About us

Confident smiles ahead

Our Practice

We are a Specialist Periodontics, Implant and Oral Medicine Clinic in Melbourne. A stone’s throw from the University of Melbourne and the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, the building is close to the main University tram stop (stop 1) on Swanston Street and has both paid and free parking in its surrounds.

The building of 250 Faraday Street dates to 1871 and is listed in the National Trust with a statement of significance.

Entrance to the practice is via Cardigan Street. On-street parking can be difficult at times, so it is best to plan to get to there early.

Our Clinicians

Dr Luan Ngo
BDSc. (Hons) Ph.D. DClinDent. FRACDS (Perio)

Graduating with honours from the University of Melbourne in 1999, Luan worked in both public and private practice until 2003 when he commenced a Ph.D. in the field of periodontics looking at biomarkers for periodontal disease. Luan completed his specialist training in periodontics in 2009 at the University of Melbourne and since then has been working in both private practice and as an academic at the University of Melbourne.

Luan has travelled to Vietnam with the Rotary Australia-Vietnam Dental Health Project. He volunteered his time in both the education of periodontists (in training) at the National Hospital of Odontostomatology in Ho Chi Minh City as well as the provision of much needed dental care for rural school children in the south of Vietnam.

Luan has been heavily involved in teaching at the University of Melbourne Dental School, having been a convenor of both the undergraduate and post-graduate programs (the latter for almost 6 years). Luan is a past president of the Australian Society of Periodontology (Victorian Branch) and is still on the committee for the Australian Society of Periodontology (Victorian Branch and Federal) as well as on council for the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Periodontists. Luan is a member of the Australian Dental Association, the Asia Pacific Society of Periodontology and the American Academy of Periodontics. Luan is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons in the specialist field of Periodontics and a fellow of the International Team for Implantology.

Awards:

• Faculty of Med, Dent and Health Sciences Deans’ Honors List
• George and Gladys Campbell Scholarship
• Australian Society of Endodontics award
• NHMRC scholarship (2004-2006)
• APRF 2010 Student Publication Award

Dr Cindy Nguyen
BDSc. DClinDent. FRACDS (Perio)

Cindy graduated with her dental degree from the University of Melbourne in 2004. Having finished as dux of her year, Cindy received a number of awards from The University, The Melbourne Dental School and also from The Australian Dental Association.

After five years of work in private practice and public clinics, Cindy commenced her specialty training in the field of Periodontics at the Melbourne Dental School. Her research project was on antibodies subclasses found in a chronic periodontitis population. Cindy has been invited to speak at interstate and overseas dental and hygiene conferences. She also has maintained her involvement in clinical demonstrating at The Melbourne Dental School since 2006. Cindy is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons in the specialist field of Periodontics.

Awards:

• Faculty of Med, Dent and Health Sciences Deans’ Honors List
• John Iliffe Scholarship
• The Australian Dental Association (Victoria Branch) Prize for Best Student
• The American Society of Dentistry for Children Prize
• Rowden White Prize

Professor Ivan B Darby
BDS PhD FRACDS (Perio) DGDP RCS Eng FADI FICD FPFA

After graduating from the University of Glasgow with BDS in 1991 Ivan worked in hospital and general dental practice in England and Wales until 1995 when he returned to postgraduate study in Glasgow. He graduated with a PhD in 2000 and undertook a postdoctoral appointment in Periodontics at Dental Institute, St. Bartholomew’s and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry until 2001. In 2001 Ivan moved to Melbourne to take up a position as lecturer in Periodontics at the University of Melbourne. He was appointed a senior lecturer and convener of the postgraduate program in periodontics in 2003, associate professor in 2008 and professor in 2012.

In addition, Ivan has been a visiting lecturer at the School of Dental Science, University of Papua New Guinea since 2006. A registered specialist in Australia since 2001, Ivan worked for 10 years as a specialist at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and subsequently in private specialist practice. He is past president of the IADR ANZ division, Asia Pacific region and Periodontal Research group, is currently Federal President of the Australian Society of Periodontology and edits the society’s journal. Ivan is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, Academy of Dentistry International, International College of Dentists, the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the ITI.

Alana
Dr Alana Smith
BDS (Distn) (Otago), DClinDent (Melb), MRACDS (Periodontics)

Raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Dr Alana Smith graduated from the University of Otago Dental School where she was awarded with the New Zealand Society of Periodontology Prize. She started working as a Dental House Surgeon in Wellington’s Hutt Valley Hospital where she gained experience in oral surgery, acute infection and trauma management, and treatment of medically compromised patients, before entering private practice as a general dentist. Seeking to further her academic knowledge Alana subsequently completed her Primary Examinations for the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeon (RACDS).

Alana moved to Melbourne with her husband Scott and their Hungarian Vizsla dog Boston to pursue her passion for periodontics commencing her specialist training at the University of Melbourne. During her studies she completed her research project investigating the efficacy of bone grafting into extraction sockets and demonstrated for the dental students in their teaching clinics. She graduated with a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Periodontics and was awarded the Straumann Group award for Academic Achievement for the highest marks in her year. She then accepted her Membership at the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.

She is actively involved with continuing education, is the co-director of the Australian Dental Association Victoria Branch Inner Melbourne Group, a committee member of the Australian Society of Periodontics (Victorian branch) and a member of the Australian Dental Association (ADA), Australia New Zealand Association of Periodontists (ANZAP) and Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS). When she is not in clinical practice, Alana enjoys fitness, outdoor adventures and pop culture.

dr_tami_yap
Dr Tami Yap
BDsc (Hons) DCD PhD FRACDS FOMAA
Tami completed a Bachelor of Dental Science with Honours at Melbourne University in 2006. In 2013 she became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and returned to postgraduate training in the specialty of Oral Medicine and completed a PhD in molecular diagnostics in oral cancer. Tami is senior lecturer at the Melbourne Dental School and enjoys teaching and research. She works clinically at the Alfred Hospital, Royal Dental Hospital, the Skin Health Institute and is part of the multidisciplinary Dermatology team at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Dr Aileen Tyler

She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 2014 and has worked in both private and public practices since in Victoria and NSW. In 2023, she completed her specialty training in Oral Medicine at the University of Melbourne.

Aileen holds appointments at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and Alfred Hospital. Aileen also enjoys teaching, and she is a lecturer at the University of Melbourne.

Her main interests include:

  • Assessing and managing oral mucosal lesions
  • Identifying oral signs of systemic diseases
  • Managing orofacial pain conditions, including:
    • Neuropathic pain

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction