Billings Patricia, DDS

I am reluctantly giving Dr Billings only 4 stars, strictly because of her limited days/​hours. Other than that, she is GREAT. My girls are 4 & 8 and have been going to her for about 3 yrs now.
Dr Billings is at Hoyt Dental, a medium-​sized dental office (all ages, not pediatric-​specific) on Murrieta Hot Springs near Whitewater. (They are tucked way in the back corner — look for their big red apple logo.)
The office itself is clean and well-​decorated inside, so don’t be put off by the fact that this shopping center is «transitional» with liquor store, bail bondsman, and a few other questionable-​looking shops. It’s not like it’s dangerous or anything… just not typical neighbors you’d think of for a dentist.
As for Dr Billings herself — she is SO warm and comforting. Everything about her is just totally reassuring. She is caring and competent. The dental assistants are also very helpful and warm.
She uses clear, simple language that kids can understand and is mindful of not scaring them, while at the same time never lying to them or being deceptive (e.g. she’d never say «this isn’t going to hurt!» if it is going to hurt.)
We had a dental emergency once and she returned my call at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night. She asked a bunch of questions and determined that it could wait until her regular hours on Tuesday (she sees patients on Tuesdays & Fridays.)

Our first appointment with Dr. Billings at Hoyt Dental for my six year old daughter went well except for the time the doctor snapped at me for attempting to soothe my little girl. The doctor seemed a little rushed but she was sufficiently patient with my daughter to get the job done so I let it slide.
About a week later it’s time for our second appointment set for the afternoon. Things started OK up until the Novocain injection when my girl became upset and nervous but not crying.
When it came time for the actual injection the tears started flowing with some whimpering but with patience on the dentist’s part, I believe things would have been fine. The doctor got about half the injection in and then gave up and referred us to another doctor because our little girl was crying.
The doctor seemed frustrated and short tempered.
So in the end nothing was accomplished except maybe the beginnings of a phobia.
Maybe if the appointment was set for the morning and not in the afternoon before a long weekend, when the doctor is fresh, things might have turned out better.
I wonder if Doctor Billings is burnt out from working with young patients, especially those who are nervous and need a little more care.
On a positive note the support staff at Hoyt Dental was friendly and helpful.