Cumulus Dental had been a CBD fixture in Woodlark Street since 1982, so forty years when the megaflood hit on February 28 2022. In fact, the exact fortieth anniversary of the Cumulus Dental practice was 40 years to the day.

Owners Rohit and Dr Rohini Singla bought the dental practice in 2015 and were confident with their major renovation six months before the flood was money well spent because water had never entered the first-floor building. After the 2017 flood, Dr Rohini Singla told the Lismore App the water was halfway up the stairs but 2022 was a different story.

"This time it went a metre into the premises which was enough to cause damage to everything. During the renovation, we added another surgery room, another chair, new flooring, new cabinets, everything was done. It was quite devastating," Dr Rohini said, "And something we never imagined."

"When I saw my practice, obviously it was emotional to see that everything was damaged because we did a lot of work and we used to get heaps of compliments every time, then all of a sudden you see the mud everywhere and the damage."

Through the very kind offer made by Dr Mark Whitehead Principal Dentist at Wollongbar Dental, Cumulus Dental was operating again by the middle of March.

"We were out of work for two and a half weeks roughly because we were offered a place to rent in Dr Mark's practice in Wollongbar. He said, just come in and start doing your patience, which was good. I think the main stress for me at that point of time was to see my patients. So it was good."

(Dr Mark Whitehead cutting the ribbon on the new space at The Village Goonellabah with Dr Rohini on the right)

Thirteen months on and the doors have opened in a brand new space in The Village Shopping Centre in Goonellabah. It is out of flood which means a great deal to a dental practice when insurance costs in the CBD are exorbitant and your expensive equipment is bolted to the ground or to the walls weighing 300 kilograms that only technicians can dismantle making it impossible to move when you get a flood warning.

The process to get set up in Goonellabah took twelve months as Rohit Singla started looking for new premises just 48 hours after February 28 2022.

"It has been a very, very long time, to be honest, the longest year I could ever feel and it was very hard," Rohit explained, "I made a very quick decision."

"When I saw the damage inside the clinic, and once I knew how high it goes, I thought okay, I need a second place straight away."

"I talked to the guy here who basically manages this shopping centre and he was very excited with our proposal that we wanted to set up a dental clinic here. We were a bit lucky because we were competing with national brands that also wanted to move into this space and they gave it to a local business."

For Rohit and Dr Rohini, the move to Goonellabah was bittersweet. On the one hand, they were now out of flood but on the other, it had been an established CBD business for over forty years.

"Looking at the town, looking at your practice, it is always emotional, how much you put in since we took over in 2015.

Since the flood, you could see that the whole town was holding hands together. I reckon, with the support of the community, the emotional support that you need at that time, less the financial burden but the emotional support is very important and this is what we got from our staff members from our family and the community."

(Dr Rohini second from left and the staff at Cumulus Dental)

"I was very surprised, we were getting calls from our patients just to check on our welfare. That actually kept us in the town, that was the one thing that kept us in the town. I thought if I moved somewhere else I might not get this thing. So, I had a chat with my friends and they said it is very unusual for patients to be calling you for a welfare check on how you're travelling. How is everything going? How is the family? It was very touching. So, I thought no, I can't move out of this area."

That community support continued when most of the Cumulus Dental clients travelled the extra distance to Wollongbar for their dental check-ups and treatment. Of course, some CBD clients lost their homes and cars and couldn't travel the extra distance.

"They were calling us and apologising that they can't travel to Wollongbar and that they were waiting for us to open here in Goonellabah. So, they have started coming back and we have received an overwhelming response or loving response I would say as they are very happy to see us open the surgery here."

Another positive for Rohit and Dr Rohini is the room to expand the practice as the Goonellabah space is larger than the Woodlark Street space.

"We have a third dentist joining us so we will have four rooms available. We are just waiting for the fourth dental chair to come in and soon we will have four dentists.

Cumulus Dental is also setting up a dental lab so it can do crowns, veneers and all cosmetic treatments.

You will find Cumulus Dental at The Village Shopping Centre in Goonellabah (Coles).

The Cumulus Dental phone number is usually (02) 6621 5528, however, they have been having technical issues with their carrier so call 0413 167 307 or check them out on Facebook.