Dr Steven Htay

Principal Dentist

Dr Steven Htay (‘Steve’ to all of us here at Ballina Coast Dental) enjoys general family dentistry and gets great satisfaction from working with the patients to provide a bespoke, oral health treatment plan. His passion and interest in healthcare inspired him to pursue dentistry—a career he considers a welcome and rewarding challenge where he can provide hands-on treatment. 

Steve qualified in 2000 as a dentist in the UK, where he grew up, working in both private and NHS practices. After working in both Australia and New Zealand, Steve decided to move permanently to Australia in 2009. 

Steve worked as a dentist in Sydney for six years until relocating up the coast to Ballina in 2016, when he purchased the practice from Steve Shelton. In Australia, Steve has enjoyed exciting and varied assignments with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Northern Queensland, two assignments as Dentist for the Australian Defence Force in the Solomon Islands and tutoring dental students at the University of Sydney School of Dentistry.

Steve’s ultimate goal is to help patients smile again, and he’s always eager to learn and do more for his patients through continuing education and adopting new technologies.

Outside of the dental clinic, Steve enjoys exploring the Northern Rivers region with his wife and daughters. He and his family enjoy hiking and exploring the forests, countryside and beaches. On days they spend indoors, they play board games and video games, stream the latest TV shows and brush up on their unique hobbies, like global mythology. 

A little-known fact about Steve is that he was on Wipeout, an extreme obstacle course competition! 

“I love meeting such an interesting variety of people and working with them to discover what they want from Ballina Coast Dental and how we can get there. The team is really supportive and is always ready to step in and help out when needed.”