The Center For Pediatric Dentistry

I can’t recommend the team here highly enough! I have a child who is significantly impacted by autism, and also a child with Traumatic Brain Injury. Although we’ve taken the children to many dentists since they were very young, up till now we have NEVER been able to have a successful dental appointment. Dr. Nelson and the other doctors and professional staff are incredibly skilled. The emphasis at all times is on my children’s needs, the priority being their need to feel safe. At our first visit, they just sat in the chairs and talked with the dentist. That’s it. We kept returning, getting a bit more done each time. Just yesterday, I was able to take the children in for a full dental exam … with NO tears! We have also had my son sedated here for a complete exam, X-​rays, cleaning, sealants, and minor cavities filled. It went smoothly and we all felt safe & supported every step of the way.
My only criticism is that the waiting area upstairs is very closed off & not terribly welcoming. There’s not much for children to do while they wait, and the toys & books there are very dated. A fish tank to help keep children calm would be a wonderful addition – especially if mounted smoothly within the wall!
I’ll continue to recommend the Center for Pediatric Dentistry to other families who have children with special needs. Social Stories are available for both routine visits & dental surgery.
They’re incredible, and my kids are so proud that they are able to go to the dentist without tears.

This review is divided into two parts (1) the medical treatment we received (4-​stars) and (2) the experience we had dealing with the business side (1-​star).
Medical
When preparing for any sort of treatment that involves surgery on your child, you want to be certain that everything is going to be handled in the most professional manner possible. This was definitely the case with darling daughter’s wisdom teeth extraction. We could tell that the pediatric surgeon, Dr. Beirne was a total veteran of this sort of procedure. He came across as very confident, very competent and very no nonsense.
Darling daughter was in and out of surgery in about 40 minutes. We barely had time to get coffee! The only reason I’m giving this aspect of our experience four stars instead of five is because the pediatric surgeon could, in my opinion, work on his bedside manner a bit. I mean, he may have done this hundreds of times or more, but it was our first time through it, so his no nonsense demeanor could have used a bit of warmth. Still, it’s a minor nit and I would probably use Dr. Beirne again, except for the fact that I’ll never use The Center for Pediatric Dentistry again.
Here’s why…
Business Administration
Over time, my interaction with the administration of the CPD went from bad to worse. I should have known to be leery just based upon how difficult it was to simply schedule an appointment. Call, leave a message. Call again, leave a message. Call a third time, leave a third message. Finally, exasperated I called the Director of Operations, Tiffany, and had a good conversation. She understood my frustration and took personal responsibility for getting darling daughter’s surgery scheduled. Great, right?
Uh, no.
You see, even after having all of my insurance information and allegedly calling for pre-​approval, no one bothered to mention that Dr. Beirne was OUT OF NETWORK! That’s right, although most of the surgeons there accepted my insurance, they scheduled darling daughter to have her surgery with the one who did not. This was not just an inconvenience; it created a significant financial hit for me. Had we used an in-​network surgeon, my co-​pay would have been half of what it actually was, which was in the hundreds of dollars.
In hindsight, I guess I should have independently verified that the surgeon was in-​network, but I trusted that the CPD would use, you know, logic and assign us to an in-​networks surgeon. I guess that was too obvious for the team there. It boggles the mind.