Choosing healthcare providers for your children is one of the most important duties you have as a parent. In this blog, we will provide some advice to those of you who are seeking a pediatric dentist. Most factors are what you would consider when making a choice for own adult dentist – proximity, reputation, insurance coverage, experience, environment, and personalities of the team. Let’s explore this further.
Proximity
So location, location, location. You might drive out of your way to reach the best pediatric dentist for you, but a place close to home, work, or your child’s school will be a big factor to consider. We’ll add office hours into the mix. Convenient appointment times, and an office that is taking new patients and has opportunity to book an appointment will be important too.
Insurance Coverage
This one might be the deal breaker, and should be something you look at very early in your search. If you can only see in-network dentists or for some reason a pediatric dentist doesn’t accept your insurance, you should keep looking. Kids Smiles accepts most PPO plans including Aetna, BCBS, Delta Dental, Cigna, Guardian, Metlife, Humana, United Concordia, United Healthcare as well as Medicaid insurances.
Reputation
Online reviews, recommendations from your friends and family, and “hearing good things” are really important. Sure, everyone might get a bad review here and there, but you should average the poor reviews and the extremely high reviews. Look for the general consensus. How are the newest reviews? You might want to consider holding the last 5 or so reviews in higher regard than something from a few years past.
Experience
Our dentists and staff care for children with special needs and have developed strategies that could help support your child. Our dentists will also give you advice on oral health home care, like tips for brushing teeth.
Specialized Clinical Training
There are benefits to visiting a pediatric dentist vs family dentist as well. Our pediatric dentists have received special training to treat children and continue to update their clinical education in every way. A general dentist is allowed to treat patients of any age. However; there are complex conditions that require the expertise of a pediatric dentist. As an example, pediatric dentists are trained to provide fluoride treatments and dental sealants to children.
Environment
So, you are looking for a clean, modern office, and more. The waiting room and exam rooms at a pediatric dentist should be specially designed for the comfort of children. Dr. Frank Sierra adds, “Our Kids Smiles locations include open bays, private treatment areas, games, toys, and family movies. We treat children with respect and explain every step of their dental care in age-appropriate, child-friendly terms.”
Pre-Appointments
Building on the environment topic, at Kids Smiles, we offer pre-appointment to give your child a chance to meet our dentists, staff, and to see the exam room and equipment. This could help your child feel more at ease and be more cooperative during the actual dental appointment. Being able to have your child become familiar with the situation can be very helpful.
Personality
The pediatric dentist and their staff should have a friendly and patient personality. Ability to make their young patients and their families feel welcome and comfortable are very important. Your child might look forward to their appointments if they like the doctor and team.
If you would like to meet our team and visit one of our five offices, request an appointment online. You can also call us with any questions, as the numbers for each location are also listed.
