NSW Dentist | Issue 5 2026 |

Dr Frances Ershad was nominated for the NSW Volunteer of the Year award as recognition for a distinguished career of making a difference, by contributing writer Caitlin Wright.

“I just want to be able to eat.”

For one of Sydney dentist Dr Frances Ershad’s patients, that simple wish summed up the reality of poor oral health.

Most people don’t think about their teeth much when everything looks and feels okay. However, when something’s wrong, it can be painful, impact self-confidence and affects function and nutrition.

“It’s so sad, because I think everybody should be able to eat properly,” she said.

At her Hunters Hill practice, Dental Garden, Dr Ershad treats patients every day who need fillings, crowns and reconstructions. Most pay their bills in the usual way. But a handful, like this gentleman, never see an invoice.

He is one of her pro bono patients – people who have fallen through the cracks of Australia’s dental system and who now receive thousands of dollars’ worth of treatment for free.

“For the pro bono patients, I’ll do exactly the same thing that I would do if they were paying for it. But maybe their treatment is a bit more extensive, because they haven’t been able to go to a dentist,” she said.

From bugs to bridges

Dr Ershad’s dental career path wasn’t straightforward. As a teenager, she thought she might become a marine biologist or an entomologist, and she first completed a degree in environmental science.

“I started working as a dental assistant while I was at uni, and I just loved it,” she recalled.

Encouraged by her employer, she enrolled in postgraduate dentistry at The University of Sydney and has never looked back.

After only two and a half years working in Sydney practices, she took the leap and bought her own dental practice in Hunters Hill.

“It probably should have been scary, but I wasn’t scared,” she laughed.

She admitted that owning a practice means more stress and paperwork, but “you also have that freedom that you can do whatever you want,” she said.

For Dr Ershad, that freedom has allowed her to open her doors to patients who otherwise might never have received care at all.

The call to volunteer

She first got involved in volunteering through the Australian Dental Association Dental Health Foundation’s (ADA DHF) Dental Rescue Days. On these days, dentists volunteer their time to provide a full day of appointments with vulnerable patients. She also hosts Dental Rescue Days in her own clinic.

The patients on the waiting list are referred by local charities and not-for-profit organisations. They’re triaged depending on need, so those with the most acute care needs can get it. There were 36 Dental Rescue Days held nationally in 2023-24, offering 591 appointments.

Dr Ershad loved helping but found it difficult to see a patient only once as there was usually too much to do within that short timeframe.

“But if you adopt the patient into your practice, you will continue to see that patient. They can keep coming back to you in your clinic for all of their care,” she said.

So that’s what she started doing – adopting vulnerable patients into her practice who couldn’t afford private dentistry but didn’t qualify for public dental care. This is another initiative of the ADA DHF. They pair volunteer dentists with patients who need a course of dental care.

Often they’re patients who are homeless, undergoing drug and alcohol rehabilitation, asylum seekers or affected by mental health issues or domestic violence.

“They might have had some sort of trauma, where they’ve had an accident to their face and everything’s destroyed, so you have to build everything back up,” she explained.

“They’ve lost so much of the natural tooth structure, so the whole bite is changed, and you’ve got to increase the height, and do it gradually so they can get used to it.”

A total of 814 patients were referred for treatment with 218 practices nationally in 2023-24, offering free dental care to people through over 815 appointments.

Adopting patients for the long haul

Dr Ershad usually takes on one pro bono patient at a time, focusing on those who need extensive work like full-mouth reconstructions.

“I think I have more fun treating the pro bono patients than the paying patients a lot of the time. They’re so grateful, and they’re always in a good mood, and they don’t complain,” she said.

She made a point of saying that she’s not the only one who gives up her time and expertise. Her lab technician will also work with her on complex cases, and organisations like Southern Cross Dental Lab and Avant Dental Lab have donated lab work too. Her dental assistants also provide their time for the Filling the Gap and Dental Rescue Day clinics.

She keeps in touch with ADA DHF and lets them know what treatments she’s doing.

There’s a high need for rural volunteers, and Dr Ershad‘s next step would be to extend her volunteering outside of Sydney.

“I know there are clinics or hospitals there, but they’re understaffed, and you always hear that they can’t get enough dentists to work out there.

“It could be an idea to send people. It could be like a working/volunteering trip; you go for a few days or a week and just get as much done as you can. If people are going regularly, then you’re getting those people in regional areas better access,” she said.

A worthy Volunteer of the Year nominee

Dr Ershad was thrilled to be nominated for the NSW Volunteer of the Year award. Although she didn’t win, she went to a prize giving lunch and was presented with a certificate by local politicians.

She was recognised for her incredible contribution to pro bono dentistry and for her outstanding dedication to the dental profession.

For her, volunteering is less about awards and more about the impact she can make. She urged her fellow dentists to consider volunteering. 

“There always seems to be so many patients that need it compared to how much care is available.

“It’s fun…These patients are just as easy and just as deserving of good oral health,” she concluded.