About Us
McGovern Dental Prosthetists is a husband and wife practice, proudly operated by Joe and Kim McGovern.
The McGovern name has been associated with dental care for over 100 years and our family have had dental practices in the Illawarra since 1934. Our extensive history of dental care includes Joe’s father, John Edward (Ted); his brother, John; his Grandfather, John Francis (JF) and his brother, Virgil, who were all dentists. Furthermore, Joe’s maternal grandfather, John and his mother’s brother, Tom were also dentists in Sydney. It seems that the care of teeth and associated services is almost genetic in our family.
Joe McGovern
Joe was born and has lived his life in Wollongong. Having started in the dental industry as a Dental Technician, his qualifications, experience and reputation have been built upon over the last 40 years. He completed a Diploma in Dental Technology and an Advanced Diploma in Dental Prosthetics. He is a registered dental practitioner with the Dental Board of Australia as well as a member of the Australian Dental Prosthetists’ Association.
Joe has a passion for his career as a Dental Prosthetist. His objective is always to create high quality removable prosthetics and he is dedicated to crafting dentures with every attention to detail, that are custom-made specifically for each patient. He is able to achieve this by being qualified to perform both the clinical and laboratory stages of denture production.
Joe loves the connections that he makes with his patients and is committed to ensuring that they have their treatment properly explained and understood. He strives to deliver the highest level of denture care in an empathetic and thoughtful manner.
Kim McGovern
Kim was born in Wellington, NSW. Her parents are a well known and respected farming family. Kim moved to the Illawarra in 1989, married Joe and commenced her studies when their children were toddlers. Kim has completed a Diploma in Dental Technology and an Advanced Diploma in Dental Prosthetics. She is a registered dental practitioner with the Dental Board of Australia as well as a member of the Australian
Dental Prosthetists’ Association. Kim has been involved in their family owned practice for over 25 years.
Kim enjoys the technical aspects of creating natural looking teeth for individual patients. As an extremely motivated person, Kim carries her enthusiasm for her work through to her patients. She takes care and time to ensure each appointment provides time for her patients to feel comfortable and prides herself in making sure that every patient is provided with the best care.
Vicki Phillips
Vicki first started working with the McGovern family in 1986 when she completed her secondary education. She worked for Dr McGovern (Ted) as a dental assistant for 10 years before leaving us for a short period to have two gorgeous children. As her children grew up, for many years, Vicki worked as a casual staff member, always willing to come in and assist our business operations.
Much to our delight, Vicki is now working part time for us in a reception role. She is the welcoming, friendly face that will greet you when you enter our clinic and her caring and kind personality is a great addition to our practice. Vicki has compassion and empathy for our patients and is wonderful at keeping us organised. We greatly value her professionalism and dedication.
Nadine Atkins
Nadine is part of the McGovern Dental family. She has completed tertiary studies and worked as a dental nurse in McGovern dental practices for over 25 years. Nadine has now taken on another career challenge and joined the McGovern Dental Prosthetist Team, working as our receptionist.
Nadine is a great team member and we love her caring and positive nature which allows her to build great rapport with our patients. In addition, her vast experience as a dental nurse underpins her capacity to understand our patients’ needs and any concerns that they may have. Nadine is a professional who is very committed to her work and our clinic. We also appreciate the sense of fun she brings to the job every day.
OUR PRACTICE & PATIENT CARE
Our reputation is based on the care that we provide for our patients and the quality of the products that we offer. We also understand the very personal nature of the service we provide and are responsive to the opinions that patients have in relation to the construction of their dentures. We always aim to create the best possible outcome for our patients. We are grateful to those who have trusted us with their care and have continued to use our services over the years.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE & LATEST TECHNOLOGIES
We have a great belief in maintaining up-to-date knowledge and delivering best practice. We achieve this by regular attendance at dental conferences and courses to ensure that we provide the informed care for our patients.
PRODUCTS USED
Our practice has an emphasis on high quality Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved products. The TGA was established to safeguard and enhance the health of the Australian community through effective and timely regulation of therapeutic goods. Most dental products supplied in Australia are categorised as a ‘medical device’ for regulatory purposes and the manufacture, export and supply within Australia of dental product is regulated by the TGA. As a division of the Department of Health, the TGA enforces the Therapeutic Goods Act (Cht) 1989 and subordinate regulations.
The regulatory framework is based on a risk management approach designed to ensure public health and safety. The TGA also regulates manufacturers of therapeutic goods to ensure they meet acceptable standards of manufacturing quality.
Using these goods, Joe and Kim handcraft all dentures for their patients in their own laboratory with the exception of cast metal frames, which are sourced from Australian Laboratories who also use TGA approved components.