Best Dentists in St. Louis. Really a great dental experience. I have used this office for regular dental care, cavities, crowns, and cosmetic dentistry. Teeth look great.
Response from the owner:Christopher we apologize for the belated response. We are very pleased to hear you have a great dental experience with our office! Thank you for your kind words. We look forward to seeing you at your next dental appointment!
Dr. Behl!
I cannot recommend Dr. Maris Behl enough. If you have dental anxiety, she is truly the kind of dentist you hope to find. If teeth could be wrapped in pillows and protected by flying unicorns, Dr. Behl would somehow make it happen.
I have significant anxiety around dental procedures and have needed deeper sedation for dental work in the past. From the beginning, Dr. Behl took the time to listen to my concerns and made me feel genuinely heard rather than dismissed or rushed. She created such a sense of trust and safety that I was eventually able to have my dental work done with only nitrous instead of full sedation, which is something I honestly didn’t think I would be comfortable doing.
During my crown placement, she explained what she was doing throughout the procedure, which made an enormous difference in keeping me calm. She also took the time to address a filling that had been bothering me for what felt like forever — and she actually fixed the problem.
What stands out most about Dr. Behl is how safe I feel in her care. She is compassionate, patient, communicative, and incredibly attentive to how her patients are feeling. For someone with dental anxiety, that combination is invaluable.
Finding a dentist I trust this much has completely changed my experience with dental care. I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Behl and would recommend her without hesitation, especially to anyone who has dental anxiety or has struggled to feel comfortable receiving dental treatment.
Response from the owner:Thank you for such incredibly kind words! We’ll be sure to pass this along to Dr. Behl. We’re pretty sure the flying unicorns are going to be the part she remembers most! 🦄💙 We’re so glad our team could help make your experience a more comfortable one.
Dr Thoms and his team are phenomenal. No question, the absolute best possible option for my child when he needed work done while sleeping (age based). While this option is not inexpensive, this set up of have anesthesiology in-house allowed us to get his mouth healthy when a traditional pediatric dentist could/would not. I am a parent that asks a lot of questions on behalf of my toddler’s care and at no point did I feel judged for this, nor was I rushed during my evaluation process during the consultation. Although the procedure is not one I would like to repeat for my child, my husband and I were both so pleased with how well Dr. Thoms communicated and how he clearly cared for our son’s wellbeing (both physical and emotional during a less than comfortable visit). Cannot recommend the back of house team more highly.
My one detraction is the FOH staff (not everyone) were not nearly as pleasant. I would like to communicate that while their day-to-day is very routine for them, being in that office as a parent is very scary for some people in their office and a little bit of kindness goes along way. I do recall, having a very pleasant conversation with Rebecca, but otherwise everyone else was on the apathetic side, in my personal opinion. That said you’ll notice that I still am leaving a five star review because the dental staff really just knocked out of the park, but as a parent I want to encourage you to look past any rudeness you may experience over email or on the phone because Dr. Thom’s is really that excellent.
Response from the owner:Thank you for taking the time to share such thoughtful feedback. We’re grateful to hear that our team provided compassionate, attentive care and took the time to answer your questions throughout the process. We also appreciate your comments regarding your experience with our front office team and will certainly share your feedback. Your kind words mean so much to us!
Going to the dentist can be a very scary thing. Even for adults, thoughts of going to the dentist can bring on feelings of fear, dread, anxiety, claustrophobia, and more. Taking this into consideration, it goes without saying that going to the dentist can be downright traumatic for children. Children are much more sensitive and prone to anxiety when it comes to being sat down in a chair and having a masked person stick loud tools into their mouth.
For this reason, a trusted pediatric dentist is absolutely essential when it comes to getting dental work done on children. Pediatric dentists need to possess a special list of qualities if they wish to thrive in their position. Let’s take a look at five personality traits your pediatric dentist should have.
A Love for Children
It goes without saying that your pediatric dentist should love children. Children are much different than adults and they require a certain amount of patience and understanding to effectively care for. Anybody who works with children needs to be kind and patient towards them.
Children may be underdeveloped in terms of mental capabilities, but one thing they can sense better than adults is if somebody likes them or not. If your pediatric dentist truly loves children, your child will be able to tell and will feel more comfortable around them.
Knowledgeable
All dentists need to be knowledgeable, however pediatric dentists need to be especially knowledgeable of children’s teeth. There are many different things pediatrics dentists need to look out for like signs of thumb sucking, pacifier use, and teeth grinding.
Kid Friendly Office
Normal dentist offices are boring and they might scare a child. A pediatric dentist needs to have an office that is decorated and colorful to make the children feel much more at home. They should have things like cartoons playing on a TV, toys, and decorations to take the child’s mind off of the dental work.
Educational
Children need to be educated on why it’s important to brush their teeth, how to brush their teeth, and what will happen if they don’t brush their teeth. A good pediatric dentist should be able to communicate all of this to your child in a way that isn’t boring and monotonous.
Authoritative
Although a pediatric dentist needs to be kind, they also need to be able to get children to cooperate. A good dentist will usually be able to get a child to cooperate with them, without having to boss them around or scare them.
A good pediatric dentist needs to have many qualities in order to make children feel safe and secure when they are at the dentist. If you are looking for a St. Louis pediatric dentist you can trust, give The Dental Anesthesia Center a call today at (314) 862-7844.
