"Bendigo Health has conducted an outreach program before, where we went to schools and looked inside children's mouths and did a quick screen.

"We haven't had the opportunity or equipment to do a full examination and treatment before," Ms Basilewsky said.

The 2019-20 Victorian Budget set aside $321.9 million in funding over four years for the program, which will be managed by Dental Health Services Victoria.

Up to 250 dental vans and 500 dental health professionals will be deployed statewide.

Bendigo Health's outreach program required families to bring children into their clinic for follow up.

"Only a small portion of those families were coming in for follow up.

"Smile Squad gives us a much greater scope to go out to those families who don't have time to get the children in and tap into those high risk groups," Ms Basilewsky said.

Bendigo Health boasts one of the shortest wait times for public dental health service in Victoria at just four months.

"We service concession and pension card holders only and they don't need a referral," Ms Basilewsky said.

Proactive dental care and targeting at risk community groups has been another focus of Bendigo Health's dental service.

"Eat well, drink well and clean well is the philosophy.

"Cutting down on sugary drinks and choosing healthier options when it comes to diet is another key.

"Starting good oral hygiene practices at a young age is really important," Ms Basilewsky said.

The Smile Squad will also help free up space in Bendigo Health's clinic.

"Our model of care has changed in that we are trying to empower people to take care of themselves and their own oral health rather than us managing them down the track," Ms Basilewsky said.

One way of doing this has been through Bendigo Health's oral education sessions, where people come along and hear about how to best access the dental service and gain oral health education.

To contact the Bendigo Health dental service, call 5454 7994 or visit www.bendigohealth.org.au/dentalservices/