GORE BAY—It has been a few years since the town of Gore Bay has had a dentist working out of the Gore Bay Medical Centre, and new dentist Dr. Mary Cross and her team at the dental office have received positive feedback from members of the public.
“I think it’s great. The dental office hasn’t been open for awhile and it is great to have the dental service back,” said Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane.
“It is great to have a new dentist like Mary and her staff on hand,” said Mr. Lane. “She is a very nice person. I had work done on my teeth yesterday. She and her staff are friendly and very professional. I am now a patient and I would encourage others in town and the area to do the same. This is just what we needed in town.”
“Colleen (Punkari office coordinator) and I were here in the office in October, but we were still getting supplies, so we actually started in November,” said Dr. Cross. “Our offices’ grand opening was November 7, after we got new staff Marilyn and Alexandria in our office. We have been very busy since opening.”
“I thought it would be slow to build up our patient list, but it has been really busy,” said Dr. Cross. “There obviously was a big need for a dentist and Colleen has been very good when someone has an emergency, and needs dental services, to get them into the office.”
Along with patients from Gore Bay and Western Manitoulin, Dr. Cross has seen patients from Mindemoya and at least a couple of people from the South Baymouth area.
Dr. Cross and the Town of Gore Bay split the costs of necessary renovations to the dental office and the purchase of equipment for the office.
“I love living and working here,” stated Dr. Cross, who lives in Kagawong with her husband and 17-month-old daughter. “My husband and I were at a candlelight snowshoe ski event a couple of weekends ago (in Ice Lake) which was beautiful. This was our Valentine’s Day celebration.”
“It’s been really positive, we have had positive feedback since opening the office,” stated Dr. Cross. “When we first opened, we were open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but it has been very busy so we are now open from Tuesday to Friday, with Fridays being by appointment only.”
Dr. Cross pointed out that Dr. Bill Studzienny, a long-time Gore Bay dentist, “had a lot to do with us moving here. He helped to convince me and my husband (Dr. Christinus van Burren who is also a dentist and will help out sometimes at the practice) to move here. Basically, we are back in Bill’s old spot in the Medical Centre building.”
“I have visited Manitoulin during summers before, so it was not hard to convince me to move and work here,” said Dr. Cross. “And once Colleen was hired and on board everything just seemed to fall into place. We have been seeing lots of kids and families, which is nice,” she said. Kids love visiting the treasure box (of toys) at the medical centre.
“My patients really love Alexandria,” stated Dr. Cross. She noted the dental office will have a Facebook site starting very soon and the dental office will be taking applications for a ‘Smile Makeover’ initiative to provide someone who needs a filling free of charge. We are doing this to support the community that has been so good to us.”
The dental office provides, “the same services as Bill did, like fillings, extractions, complex flex extractions, crown and bridge work, dentures.”
“It is wonderful to have Mary and her staff here at the dental office in the medical centre,” said Dr. Studzienny, who acknowledged he acted as a ‘cheerleader’ to convince Dr. Cross to move and work locally.
The dental office staff includes Marilyn Gibson, dental assistant; Alexandria Shawongonabe dental hygienist; Colleen Punkari office coordinator; and Dr. Cross.
Patients can call the dental office at 705-282-2223. The office is open from Tuesday to Thursday from 9 am to 4 pm and on Fridays by appointment.
Dr. Cross is originally from the Niagara region, and after graduating from dental school in 2018 from James Cook University, an Australian University whose health programs are focused on rural and remote health care, she worked in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, a town of 20,000 people. Her husband Dr. Christinus van Buuren is also a dentist and the couple’s baby, Laura, was born in September 2021.
