Dr. John Pucovsky, a gentle and professional man, was our dentist for 35 years, the only dentist our children had until they left home.
He was beloved in the community and, with faithful assistant Wanda Palazzo, provided caring, attentive, quality dental care to generations of West Elgin-area families. His friendly demeanour and gentle laugh are missed.
He passed away suddenly, just as he was handing over the reins of his business and was planning for retirement.
Rodney Dental was passed along to Joseph and Lindsay Louwagie in January 2021. Renovations to the offices were completed in October 2021, giving the business a fresh, bright appeal, with much new equipment. Gone are John’s beloved murals in the treatment and other rooms, but there is a tribute and photos of him in the waiting room.
Rodney Dental is a full service dental office. Their aim is to comprehensively take care of the dental needs of the West Elgin community – to treat existing dental issues, educate and help prevent further issues, maintain, and improve function, support patients in achieving their oral health goals (including aesthetic dentistry) to provide confidence and satisfaction to customers.
The practice has nine employees, including two dentists, in addition to Dr. Lindsay, and a denturist.
The services offered include check-ups and cleanings, fillings, dental implants, denturist and preventive dental care, advanced dental hygiene care.
They also handle emergencies, extractions, pediatric and seniors’ dental care, root canals, crowns and bridges, veneers and whitening.
The Louwagies’ goals include expanding their scope, continuing to bring in other services as required by the community.
Offering such a broad range of services locally is of great convenience and financial benefit to clients, as specialized services are offered in-house, rather than being outsourced to more expensive specialist fees, in locations a considerable drive away. Rodney Dental is part of a three-location network, which also includes clinics in Aylmer (their home office, purchased in 2019) and Glencoe. The size of their operation allows for their staff to offer a much broader array of services than a stand-alone location could.
Dr. Lindsay Louwagie was raised near Clinton, and Joseph was raised on a dairy farm near Mitchell. Lindsay graduated from the University of Toronto, then worked in clinics in Toronto and Waterloo, while Joseph’s background is in computers, having worked at Blackberry in Waterloo.
Their staff include Dr. Maitray Varma (U of Waterloo, studied dentistry in Dublin, Ireland,) dentist, with expertise in a wide range of services, Dr. Anahita (Anna) Izadi, (UWO, Althouse, Schulich School of Dentistry, UWO ,) who taught for the TVDSB before pursuing a career in dentistry, also is a general dentist, and Jennifer Gordon DD who is a denturist.
Others at Rodney Dental include receptionist Pam, dental assistant Robin, treatment co-ordinator Maureen, Maureen’s daughter Alli, who is a summer student, and dental hygienist Lindsay.
The Rodney Dental team includes dental assistant Heather and Julia.
Support and expertise from other offices comes from Marilyn and Jennifer.