We've been using Associated Children's Dentistry for our three kids since 2010, and are careful to get our 6 month checkups. My eldest son sustained quite a bit of damage to his teeth in an accident in 2008, and as he gets older, there have been some issues with the damaged teeth that have needed to be addressed.
First, I do want to say that they can be difficult to get in contact with as you usually have to leave a message even during business hours. They do call you back promptly. I was told that they work with a skeleton staff, and that the dentist is not in attendance every day they are open (or at least this is how it was 6 months ago - obviously, appointments requiring a dentist are scheduled for days he is there.)
They also have had a bad habit of rescheduling appointments since they don't have a backup if the dentist is sick or can't come in. However, most of the time (except for when the dentist got sick) they seem to call well in advance. Still, it's really annoying, especially the one appointment that took three tries.
They do allow parents in back, contrary to other reviews. But they do recommend that parents wait in the waiting room, as your nervousness does make the children nervous. I imagine the review about the mother in hysterics over her child is exactly why the protocol is in place -it's hard as a mother to sit by passively if the child acts like the procedure hurts or is uncomfortable, and people rooting around in your mouth is never fun. Some people can handle their own discomfort for the sake of their children better than others, just like some people are better with blood than others.
In my experience, they've done very well with my children, and keep in mind that right now these three are 8, 5 and 3. Even when my two youngest were very young, they did very well in keeping the children calm and relaxed, and treating it like a game rather than the torture I personally think dental cleaning/work can be. There is a little waiting room in back for the kids with games and toys, so they never feel like they are in a sterile, boring, scary environment.
Finally, due to the trauma my eldest's teeth had as a toddler, he had to have a tooth pulled because it wasn't coming out on it's own and it was damaging the permanent tooth above it. He is my most likely to get hysterical over shots and other painful things, but he came out of the tooth pulling smiling, much to my surprise. I had some questions regarding the pulled tooth that day, and when I called the office, they had the dentist themselves get back to me almost immediately to answer my concern. read more
