Small Smiles Dental Clinic -- Great for Kids

It can be quite difficult to find a good children's dentist. Look in any phone book and you will find dozens of dentists for adults-and likely only a few dentists for children. And even if you locate a dentist who treats children, there is a high probability that he may not accept your insurance plan. This is very frustrating for parents, because we all just want our kids to get good dental care.

The situation is even more difficult if your family relies on Medicaid for health coverage. Many states do not have adequate dental access for these families. It is particularly a problem for children in Medicaid-covered families because there simply aren't very many children's dental providers who accept Medicaid for payment.

How do I know? Well, my family is one of these Medicaid families, and finding good dental care for my children has been quite a task. The covered provider list given to us by Medicaid lists only a few dentists, none of which specialize in children. I once called all of the children's dentists in our local phone book to see if I could locate any who would accept Medicaid-that is how I managed to find my children's first dentist.

This first dentist that I took my children to see did specialize in treating children; however, you wouldn't know that by his bedside manner. He was rather gruff and unfriendly-not really the type of person who is skilled at making people feel comfortable. My kids liked the office well enough (the Lego table and magnet wall in the waiting room were big attractions), but not the dentist. I felt much the same way-something about this dentist just didn't feel quite right. My instinct was proven correct when my older son was getting a crown one day. The dentist numbed the left side of my son's mouth, and then left the room to let the anesthesia take effect. When he came back in the room and began work, he picked up a sharp instrument and began poking at the right side of my son's mouth. Needless to say, my son screamed, and it took us all quite some time to calm him down enough to finish the procedure.

After that happened, I wasn't too keen on taking my children back to see that dentist-but where else was I going to take them? There weren't any other children's dentists who accepted Medicaid. Then I got lucky-a few weeks later, I got a flyer in the mail about a Small Smiles Dental Clinic that would be opening nearby, and the notice said that Medicaid was accepted! (Other insurances are accepted as well, of course.) I immediately called and got appointments for both of my sons for soon after the clinic would open.

Soon enough the day came for the kids' appointments at Small Smiles. My kids weren't too nervous-they were more concerned about whether or not they would be getting a prize for good behavior at the dentist. I was hopeful that this dentist and his staff would be much friendlier than the people were at the other children's dentist we had seen.

The appointments we had were for first thing in the morning, so we opened the clinic doors to an empty waiting room. And what a large waiting room it was! Dozens of chairs, two children's tables (complete with kid-sized chairs), and a cubby area for toys and books (though the books and toys were not in place as of yet-the clinic had only opened the day before we were there). Best of all was a large, flat-screen television that was hanging on the wall. My kids were excited to watch "Flushed Away" while they were waiting to be called for their appointments.

Both of the kids were called back at the same time, though each by different dental assistants. I walked up to the door with the kids, but I was politely told that it is customary for parents to wait in the waiting room. Apparently at Small Smiles, each child goes back with his own dental assistant, who takes care of him instead of having a parent come back. I was told that someone would come and get me if there was any problem, but that everything should be fine.

I must say that this felt quite unsettling at first. Parents get used to accompanying their children to pretty much any appointment they have, so to be told to wait in the waiting room was a definite first for me-especially considering that my boys are only 4 and 6 years of age. But as time went by and I didn't hear any crying or screaming, I relaxed. I began to trust that things were going well.

After the dental assistants clean the child's teeth and any necessary x-rays are taken, a dentist examines each child's mouth. After this, the parent is called back into a consultation room-not into the room with the child, but a small cubicle-type room that has a one-way mirror overlooking the exam room. Here, the dental assistant or the dentist explains any problems with the child's teeth and then gives the parent the option of having the work done on the teeth right then and there. This is a feature of this dentist office that I really appreciated-our previous child dentist used to do an exam at the appointment, then require us to make a second appointment for any work that needed done. At Small Smiles, the dentist can take care of the needed dental work immediately.

Both of my kids required dental work-one son even had some nerve damage in his tooth, so the dentist asked my permission to use nitrous oxide as well as a local anesthesia. I was impressed with this, let me tell you-anything that will help keep my child out of pain, I'm all for. The dentist we used to visit never offered this as an option.

Small Smiles is definitely the dentist office we will continue to go to. My kids were treated with such respect and care. And even though both of my boys had work done, neither was upset with the experience-they were too excited to show each other the toothbrushes, stickers, and toys that they had been given in their goodie bags at the end of their visits. I couldn't be happier that this dental clinic opened up in our town!

I had never heard of Small Smiles Dental Clinic before we got the flyer in the mail, but after reading their company literature and information on their website, I see that this dental clinic is actually like a franchise. Small Smiles has been in business since 1967, and they have offices in several states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. It is wonderful to see that there are so many of these dentist offices throughout the country-finally all kids (even those whose families rely on Medicaid) can get the dental care that they need.