Seeking Information About Pediatric Dental Care

I am a pediatric dentist in Hackensack, NJ. I recommend going to a pediatric dentist and not a general dentist. Many pediatric dentist have specialty training in treating caries under laughing gas, oral sedation, or general anesthesia. Laughing gas is effective if your child will breathe in through his/her nose. That is unlikely on a two year old. Oral sedation is usually recommended in children who do not suffer from severe asthma and the extent of decay is minimal. General anesthesia is recommended on children that have extensive decay and completely combative in the chair. Three cavities do not sound like alot of work, but are the caries large and require pulp and crowns? If so, then general anesthesia may be the best option. In any case, it is important to treat these cavities before they start causing pain/swelling/infection. Make sure you brush especially at nighttime and avoid any gummi foods (gummi vitamins, fruit snacks, etc.) I know of a pediatric dentist in Briarcliff but not sure if she offers oral sedation as an option. Hope this helps! Good luck

My daughter had a bunch of cavities filled when she was 4 years old. They absolutely did NOT do it under general anesthesia, but they did give her laughing gas (nitrous oxide). She was a champ... she didn't complain at all. We go to Dr. Patel and Dr. Amy Madigan in White plains.

Gentle Family Dentistry in Briarcliff! They will let your son lay on either you or his dad while they gently scrape the cavities (not drill) and fill them. At least thats what they did for my son.

Dr. Roseann Maimone is friendly, kind, and the kids like her a lot. She has a toy box for little ones to pick out a toy after their visit. ###-###-####; tell Toni I sent you (I get no kickbacks, I promise!)

P.S. I think the other dentist in the practice, Louis Greco, has an office in the Bronx.

Hello,
I am a General Dentist with LOTS of experience with children; I am hospital based, but not in Westchester.
My advice is that you stick with the 2nd Pediatric Dentist you saw. To keep repeating the exam and introducing more unfamiliar faces to your child is stressful. Treating severe caries under general anesthesia in a toddler is a common practice. This is usually done through ambulatory (same day) surgery, assuming there are no other significant health problems.
The Anesthesiologist will administer and monitor the anesthesia while the dentist completes the work. Please get this done for your child's sake ASAP! He is likely not to bond with any dentist per se after this, but, over time and with maturity the visits will be less stressful. More than anything, YOU must modify his diet and oral hygiene practices to avoid ever putting him through this again. I wish you well.
L