After having heard so many good things & having met Dr. Boozer when he visited the elementary school where I taught years ago, I was happy to pay the extra money to take my three-year-old for her very first dental visit at his office.
Unfortunately, the visit was not at all what I had hoped. The girl who called us back did not even speak to my three-year-old (who admittedly was hesitant) when she greeted us, and acted annoyed/lost when she did not immediately hop on the scale for her. This first contact would have been the time for her to engage her/offer a little prize or encouragement, etc. but instead she just seemed unsure of how to approach her.
When she asked her to sit in the seat (which is a bit intimidating with all of the equipment and bright lights) she basically just pointed at it and told her to get in, rather than making it a game, explaining the equipment, or doing any number of other things that would have put a three-year-old's mind at ease.
My LO was a bit resistant, but did not scream, throw a tantrum, or anything of the sort. Yet, the worker seemed completely lost as to how to deal with her. The actual dentist (not Dr. Boozer) was nicer (at least smiled & tried to convince her) but other than offering a new toothbrush, did not seem to have any other techniques for encouraging three-year-olds either.
I had been told that Dr. Boozer's office had a lot of techniques for putting children at ease, but aside from the small television on the ceiling and some games in the waiting area, I did not observe anything that really helped the visit to go smoothly.
As an elementary school teacher, I know the importance of engaging children, being friendly with them, and using fun/games/rewards to encourage them to do new or scary things. I thought that this office understood these things as well, but I was very much mistaken. Of course, dealing with a three-year-old is always a huge challenge, but I definitely think they could have done more to make it go smoothly.
Update: I have added one star because I called the office manager, and she was very apologetic and seemed to genuinely care. Hoping I just caught them on a bad day, & maybe they will come up with some sort of a "game plan" for giving a little extra TLC on first time visits so that others have a better experience. read more