Everything went great today for her surgery but I do have some feedback about other things. My daughter was scheduled to be put to sleep to undergo a root canal. They ended up needing more anthesia which I was willing to pay for. Surgery was supposed to be an hour (I was told this before they started), and it ended up being 2 hours because of some minor complications. Noone came to the lobby to inform us. When it was over, I asked to see her. They said I had to pay first. I just paid almost 5k and they were more worried about an additional $300 before allowing me to see my daughter? This didn't sit right. I didn't say anything. I paid the bill and went to see my daughter. Dr. Hoffman is the nicest man I have ever met! He was outstanding.
Also, in the weeks before her surgery, the office appeared to not communicate. I would receive a call saying one thing then someone else would say another. They were never on the same page.
Last week, they needed to speak with me to confirm a few things. They called me at 8:16am then again at 1:06pm. Leaving me a voicemail that if they do not hear from me they were going to cancel her surgery. Wow! I work. I work 8am-5pm. I do not have access to my phone during those hours. They did leave a voicemail and I would have called the next day but they did not give me a chance before sending me an email threatening to cancel.
Also, they had called me several weeks before to inform me I had no insurance. I called my insurance company and they said I did. Not sure what happened but it resulted in unnecessary phone calls during my only free 20 minutes at work.
If your appointment is at 10am, do not plan on seeing anyone for awhile. All our appointments ran an hour behind.
I think Dr. Hoffman is wonderful but the office staff needs some help.
Not friendly at all. Noone even smiled!
The nurses in the room with my daughter were great too.
I went to nervous and 3 to 4 hours later, I essentially woke up in the car on my way home without realizing anything had happened. If you have trauma with previous dental issues, this is the place. I have a had severe dental trauma my entire life. Until now, they are all fantastic.
Response from the owner:Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your experience. We’re grateful our team could help provide a comfortable experience and appreciate your trust in us.
Our experience was wonderful. Our Down’s Syndrome son is very apprehensive about his appointments, but Dr. Thoms and all of his staff made our son more compliant. Each member seems vested in their job and are so kind and caring. Thank you for a positive experience.
Response from the owner:Thank you for your kind words! We’re so glad your family had a positive experience. Our team takes great pride in providing compassionate, individualized care, and your feedback means so much to us!
Everyone is always very welcoming and professional.
Response from the owner:Thank you for your kind words! We’re so glad our team makes you feel welcome. We truly appreciate your support!
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.
