Historical Milestones

Graduating in February 1958, Dr Gerry Bartlett first practised at Port Macquarie before sailing to England to work for two years, attending post-graduate training in periodontics (gum treatment).

Upon returning to Australia, before a short agricultural episode as a jackeroo at Harden, Gerry acted as locum tenens at Tamworth and subsequently established a Mobile Dental Clinic travelling in northwestern N.S.W. circulating among Walcha, Bingara, Barraba, Warren, Boggabri, Wee Waa with two trips to Brewarrina.

On 19th July 1963, the Gunnedah practice commenced in Conadilly Street, above PW Brady & Co, moving to its present location in 1982. Branches followed at Boggabri, Barraba and Manilla. In ‘71
the practice was leased to a Norwegian orthodontist while Gerry took his family to England where he gained experience in General Anaesthetics at Epsom Hospital, prior to studying implantology in Paris under a French Government scholarship.

Since then, in direct contrast to having access to a range of very advanced hi-tech equipment here, Gerry, sometimes accompanied by chairside assistants ‘worked in the field’, first in Dharamsala and Leh, India, then Kathmandu in Nepal and Burkino Faso in Africa. After the construction of a solar-powered dental operatory in 2001, more field trips were undertaken – to East Timor; Kuling village in the foothills of the Himalayas; and for the past four years to Papua-New Guinea, setting up Primary Dental Care clinics and retraining Health Workers along the Kokoda Track.

Other Milestones:

1960 – Autoclave, Ultrasonic Scaler, electronic X-ray machine as well as air-turbine installed in Mobile Dental Clinic. Designed and built own pneumatic, contoured dental chair. Relative Analgesia since mid ‘70s; Cephalometic/Panoramic X-ray machine installed and Low-Level Laser purchased during ‘80’s. 

1990 - First Cerec 1 in eastern Australia; 1998 - First Ultra-lo-speed surgical motor in area; 2003 - First surgical laser in Northwest; 2007 - First Piezo-Surgery unit; First vacuum-fired crystallisation furnace for Leucite double-strength crowns and bridges.

2010 - Oral Health Therapist, Anders Claessen joins the practice'