Smile Stars Pediatric Dentistry

I agree with an earlier post that this place is for small children. My son loved it until Jr. High. After that, his visits took forever, as the smaller children got preferential treatment. The assistants were very rude/​did not know how to appropriately handle him.

I took my nephew to the dentist yesterday afternoon and it was such a nice experience for him. This was the second time I have been with him when he wen to the dentist — the last time was several years ago — but each time has been so nice. The office staff is very friendly and you feel welcome from the moment you walk in.
There is a large waiting room with extremely comfy chairs not the standard hard waiting room chairs. One side of the room has a large screen with kids movies playing while the other has a smaller TV with news for adults. I opted for the news side as that is closer to the play area so my nephew could play while we waited. He did not have long though! We were early for our appointment and they took him back almost immediately!
Yesterday was a routine cleaning and check up and he got an excellent bill of health! The appointment took just under an hour and he came out all smiles!
I would have scheduled his next appointment but they only book one month in advance an we needed a June date. That was my only hiccup the whole appointment! Totally painless, for both of us! Gotta love that!
We highly recommend this office to anyone with kids. They will be in wonderful hands!

What a great place, first time for my 5 year old to get his teeth cleaned! They were beyond incredible. These people truly love kids and what they do!

I went to Smile Stars for years. The environment is very children friendly but also chaotic in the back. If you are looking for an enjoyable place to take your kids, I would recommend this. They have a tropical theme in the back with different activities for while you’re waiting: basketball, touchscreen games, a waterfall, etc. Everything is just out in the open so it makes it easier for kids not to feel so uncomfortable.
Dr. Ripple is a really nice guy. He and his staff are very interactive with the children. For the most part, as a kid, he was always engaging which made me feel not so scared being there.
I know as I proceeded to grow older, my experience going there was more awkward, as the place is covered with children and very few teens and little to no adults. I don’t have a problem with children running around, but I do have a problem with their basketball court. It just takes one kid to chunk a foam ball hard enough that it could hit someone who is having their teeth worked on.
I know on my last visit, I noticed that my visit was taking a little longer than usual and to be fair, there were a lot of people there. When you’re older, they never ask you if you need to brush your teeth; they assume you have. The part of the process I dread most is flossing; maybe some people are more gentler than others, while others aren’t. Every time I have gone, I have literally feared when they would begin flossing because they have little to no mercy towards my poor gums. Other than that, they are quick and efficient about cleaning.
This last part is primarily why I chose to write this review. I understand people can continue going to Smile Stars all the way until they complete college, but I don’t honestly recommend it. The place is better for the kids and honesty, the staff is better adjusted towards handling kids. One woman was engaging conversation with me while cleaning my teeth, which is nice, but she was so distracted with what was going on, she would just leave the suction device going in my mouth and it was beginning to hurt. After waiting for over 10 minutes to see Dr. Ripple, because he was giving special treatment to a little girl whom it was her first visit, he finally was able to see me. I was overhearing a conversation he had right in front of me, and I presume they completely forgot that I am not a child, I am completely capable of understanding what they are saying. They were so consumed by that, they didn’t even assist me into my chair, which had been raised so high up for the child before me. He looked over my teeth in under 30 seconds, said, «Everything’s good,» and proceeded to try to make me leave. I understand they are busy, but I felt rushed out, considering this is my last visit EVER there. I had a question I needed to ask, even then, I felt rushed. I understand people get busy, but just in my experience over the years, they become less personable towards older children/​adults than towards the little kids. That is fine since it is pediatrics not an adult dentist, but it rubbed me wrong. It almost makes you aware of the façade that some people wear, but that isn’t really any of my business.
Again, this place is really fun for the kids and cater towards kids. I just recommend once your kids are 18, they should transfer to an adult dentistry place.

Dr Ripple and his friendly staff is always so efficient and focused on the patient. My boys have been coming here since the pediatrician highly recommended dr Ripple close to 10 years ago. One is now a teen and has a great healthy smile. My youngest is that late developer in the teeth department. Dr Ripple had to extract his two front teeth as they were needing to come out and make room for the permanent teeth! My little guy handled it like a champ and Dr ripple is so complementary of the good behavior and recognizes how brave these little people have to be for some of these procedures! We are thankful to have such skilled and genuine caring professionals caring for our boys!

I took my 10-​year-​old son to see Dr. Steven Ripple at Smile Stars for what was (sadlyl) his first dental visit. To say my son was nervous is an understatement. He’s never been comfortable with medical-​type procedures, and I was expecting this appointment to be a trying ordeal for us both. Not so. When my son was called back, I went with him for a tour of the office. They had lots of things for the kids to do while they’re waiting, and my son was perfectly happy to wait without me. He came out smiling with his shiny clean teeth and said that Dr. Ripple was awesome! The staff is helpful, and Dr. Ripple took time to talk to me about the visit. We’ve since been back for my son to have a tooth pulled, and that was another great experience. No fuss, no muss, they put my son at ease and he did just fine. Very happy with Dr. Ripple and Smile Stars!