‘I first started flying when I was 17 but stopped when I needed to concentrate on my university studies,’ he says. ‘I love the freedom, the challenges, the fact that every single flight is different.’

When he graduated in dentistry in 2004, he did the first unexpected thing in his career. He managed to obtain an, almost unheard of, early post-graduation registration for a posting to the New England area to help alleviate their regional dentistry waiting lists. Ned and his colleagues saw 200 patients in his first two weeks there.

‘That’s what got me interested in the need for regional clinics,’ he says.

‘I was working Mondays to Thursdays in Tamworth, Armidale and Inverell, but my family was back in Sydney. I saw an ad in The Trading Post for a clinic in Woy Woy that was looking for a dentist, part time. And I thought I could work there Fridays and Saturdays and then head back to New England. So for the next couple of years, I flew between the two regions.’

By 2006, Ned knew his heart belonged on the Central Coast and he bought an apartment in Terrigal. The following year he opened his first Smile On clinic in Lisarow. Three years later, the Smile On dental clinic in Avoca Beach followed.

‘Just weeks after we opened in Avoca, I had a motorbike accident and couldn’t work for two years after that,’ he says, downplaying the horrific accident. ‘I was able to get locums to work in my clinics but decided the best thing I could do, was to go back to university to study and upskill my dentistry abilities to the next level.’

Ned completed a Masters program in Implantology in Australia and then a US Masters program, becoming one of only four Australians to hold a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology.

‘I got the US qualification by travelling to America for two weeks every month, then heading back home. It was a bit extravagant, financially, but it changed my entire career because the technology I was learning was so advanced.

‘I borrowed money with my partners, obtained the rights to the program in Australia, and we set up the Australian Implant Academy (AIA). It was designed to train 300 dentists per year with top clinicians from around the world coming to teach implant technology, full- mouth rehabilitation and more. Then Covid hit. Then I was diagnosed with testicular cancer,’ he says as if that was just a small setback.

During his (successful) treatment, Ned returned to his first love: flying. Again, he didn’t do things by halves, having bought a Cirrus SR22 G6, single engine plane.

‘It’s an amazing plane,’ says Ned. ‘It has an aircraft-parachute which means the plane can get back to earth safely should anything happen to your one engine. And I can get to regional areas like Dubbo in 50 minutes – less than it takes to drive from the Central Coast to Sydney or Newcastle.

‘Instrument flying makes it much more challenging and more satisfying. You need to be disciplined, always planning, alert, ready for any eventualities. It’s a lot like dentistry! And the other thing they have in common is that you need to keep your skills current; you can’t not fly or not practise your skills for a few months in either discipline and expect to remain at the top of your game.’

Ned’s flying sparked the idea of opening more regional dental clinics, employing and upskilling local dentists. The man who doesn’t do things by halves has now opened 24 Smile On clinics, mostly in regional areas from Dubbo to Griffith, and from Gunnedah to the Sunshine Coast.

‘For complex or critical cases, I need to be able to get to those regions as quickly as possible. Having my own plane and being able to fly out of Warnervale Airport makes that possible.’

So, can Ned sit back and just enjoy flying between his clinics?

No, remember this is a man who doesn’t do things like other earthbound mortals. In July, he opened a purpose-built, fully functional Smile On dental hospital and implantology training centre in Wamberal, capable of advanced dental procedures requiring day-surgery with full anaesthesia, as well as cosmetic and implant dentistry, Smile On Straighter, and more.

‘It means patients don’t need to travel to a hospital in Newcastle or Sydney. And having our own lab, surgical facility and support teams together means better communications, faster and better care for our patients.

‘We started on the Central Coast and it means a lot to build something unique, on this scale and impact here at home.’

It’s enough to make Ned smile, but don’t believe for a minute that this is all that’s on his wide horizon!

Find your local Smile On here.

Main image: Andrew Smith, Central Coast Aero Club; all other images courtesy Smile On