Dr Abed has always been passionate about providing healthcare to regional and remote areas. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
A dentist with a passion for bringing high-quality healthcare to rural communities is learning to fly so she can spend more time treating patients in Griffith.
Dr Shahana Abed is the principal dentist at Smile On Griffith, part of a network of around 50 practices servicing regional areas across Australia. The 48-year-old lives in Brisbane but has spent two weeks every month in the Riverina town as a fly-in fly-out dentist since September 2025.
Flying to Griffith
Smile On co-founder Dr Ned Restom is also a pilot who flies himself to smaller communities, and Dr Abed hopes to follow in his footsteps.
“At present, I have to drive to the Central Coast and then take a charter flight to Griffith,” she said.
“Ned told me if you learn to fly, I’ll buy you a plane so you can fly directly from Brisbane to Griffith in just three hours. I said, ‘Bring it on.’”
Dr Abed will soon be learning to fly at the Griffith Aero Club. Photo: Supplied.
She has now started flying lessons and plans to continue training through the Griffith Aero Club during her weekends in town.
“I’ve decided that when I’m here, I’ll take classes on Sundays,” she said.
Dr Abed also mentors dentists in Brisbane, but said she was drawn to Griffith because of the need for specialist services in regional Australia.
“I initially started doing this as a fill-in but genuinely found Griffith such a lovely community,” she said.
“Ned’s vision was to provide the highest level of dental care to regional areas.
“We wanted to take our first-world metro skills and equipment to small towns, and he came up with a model to make that possible.”
Out of Africa
Dr Abed’s commitment to service was shaped long before she arrived in Australia. Raised in apartheid-era South Africa, she came from a family that strongly believed in justice and equality.
A descendant of indentured Indian labourers, her great-grandfather was one of the first non-white businessmen in his area and was once represented by a young Mahatma Gandhi in a legal battle over his right to operate his own enterprise.
After graduating from dental school, Dr Abed worked in a prison and in black townships during a difficult and often dangerous period in South Africa’s history.
“There was one day I came out of the clinic at a township and all the cars had been vandalised and had their tyres stolen,” she said.
“But my car was untouched. There was a note in Zulu saying they appreciated the work I did for them.”
Building a family and career
After starting a family in South Africa, she moved to the United Kingdom before settling in Australia in 2007. She has three children born on three continents and took time away from dentistry to raise them.
“I felt like I had multiple shoes to fill,” she said.
“I had to be the grandfather who teaches them religion and the grandmother who teaches them languages.
“My husband and I made a deal that when the kids were older, he’d support me without complaint.”
Dr Aded with her husband and three children. Photo: Supplied.
Since returning to full-time work, Dr Abed has expanded her skills in aesthetic dentistry and implant surgery, built a strong social media following and recently won an award recognising influential South African professionals in Australia. She also speaks seven languages.
Dr Abed’s vision
Smile On took over the former Riverina Smiles site in 2023 and has focused on bringing advanced dental services to Griffith that are often only available in larger cities.
“We are all general dentists who are also trained in high-end dentistry,” Dr Abed said.
“I’m training in implant surgery, which we can do in Griffith.
“We have digital scanners and all the technology. Everything can be done in-house without needing to go to a hospital for x-rays.”
In keeping with the practice’s focus on accessibility, Dr Abed also visits retirement homes to treat elderly patients who are too unwell to travel to the clinic.
Her attitude and achievements have made her very popular in her adopted country – save for one admission.
“I still go for South Africa in rugby and cricket,” she says.
