First Dental continues as founder passes away

Well-known and respected member of the dental industry, John Toole, passed away suddenly from a heart attack whilst resting on 4 December 2006.

Mr Toole was a strong and passionate man and this was demonstrated in all his pursuits. Through his beloved Rotary Club, he spent much time and money helping those less fortunate in the community, organising raffles, the annual Pub-to-Pub, and the Red Shield Appeal where he was the district manager for his area and raised $100,000.

He was the founder of First Dental in May 1994, a niche business specializing in repairing dental handpieces and serving the dental profession Australia-wide.

Prior to this, Mr Toole managed mail order distributor, Erskine Dental, from its inception. His experience within the dental industry goes back over 20 years starting with Gunz.

Since 1997, Mr Toole's daughter, Sarah Hendry, became involved in the family business on the administrative side. In July 2000, she began managing the paper work and most of the client contact full time; later progressing to handpiece repairs under her Dad’s watchful eye.

"With my Dad's training, I became more of an expert with all brands of handpieces and when the company gained accreditation from the two most popular brands, I worked hard to increase my skills," she said.

"During the six brilliant years of working full-time with Dad, he has taught me 'everything he knew" and thanks to his knowledge and experience, I will be continuing to run First Dental as the new director. I will still be providing the 'better value, better quality handpiece repairs' for Australian dentists, just like Dad has for over 10 years!"