Tips for Finding the Best Emergency Pediatric Dentist for Your Child
When a dental emergency strikes, you’ll want the right pediatric dentist already on speed dial. Here are practical tips — from trusted recommendations to reviews and emergency hours — for finding the perfect fit for your child.
When you have little children, trips to the emergency room are common because their immune systems are not as developed, making them more susceptible to diseases, and the same applies to their oral care — especially if your child’s teeth are still growing — which means you should have an emergency pediatric dentist on speed dial.
If you are in the process of finding an emergency pediatric dentist for your child, these tips should help you find the right dentist for your child.
Finding a professional emergency pediatric dentist for your child
Talk to friends and family
One of the best ways to find the right emergency pediatric dentist for your child is by asking your family and friends who have young children to recommend a dentist. Getting advice from other parents will give you an idea of what to expect from the dentist and the way they interact with children.
A recommendation from a friend or family member will also provide you with the type of information you cannot get by visiting the dentist’s website or talking to them over the phone. In addition to the recommendations, you should conduct research to make sure your child will be comfortable with the dentist.
Use AAPD resources
Another method of finding the right emergency pediatric dentist is by visiting the American Association of Pediatric Dentists website because they have a directory of dentists who are certified by the organization, making it easier to find qualified dentists in your area.
Check client reviews
A great way to determine if a pediatric dentist is right for your child is by going through reviews of potential dentists. Reviews from other patients will give you insight into the dentist. If the reviews are bad, you should move on to another dentist. If they are good, you should schedule an appointment with the dentist to meet in person.
Visit their offices
A dentist’s office can tell you a lot about who they are, which is why you should visit the offices of any dentist you are interested in. You should make a point to talk to as many staff members as possible and ask questions about the dentist and their practice. Find out how long they have been practicing pediatric dentistry, if they have children patients close to your child’s age and any other questions you need answers to.
Ask about their emergency hours
Since most dental offices are not open 24 hours a day, you need to find out if the pediatric dentist you are considering has emergency hours. If they do not, you can move on to the next name on your list. If they do, you can continue asking questions to determine if they are the right fit.
Conclusion
Finding the right emergency pediatric dentist is important if you have young children because you can never know when you will need to make an unexpected trip to the dentist, which is why you need to make sure the dentist you decide to go with knows how to interact with young children and is available in case of an emergency.
Parents also ask.
Start with recommendations from friends and family who have young children, then verify what you hear: the American Association of Pediatric Dentists keeps a directory of certified pediatric dentists in your area, and patient reviews add a candid second opinion. Once a dentist passes those checks, schedule an in-person visit so you can meet the team before you ever need them.
Ask about emergency hours first: most dental offices are not open 24 hours a day, and a practice with no emergency availability cannot help you at the moment you need it most. While you are there, talk to the staff, ask how long the dentist has been practicing pediatric dentistry, and find out whether they regularly treat children close to your child’s age.
The fastest path is having a practice already on speed dial before anything happens, which is exactly why choosing an emergency pediatric dentist ahead of time matters. At CarlsbaDDS Pediatric Smiles, families can call or text us at (760) 730-3456, and in an emergency you are welcome to text a few photos of the injured area so we can guide your next steps.
Want the deeper answers? Dr. Tsai answers the 20 questions parents ask most in our Comprehensive FAQ.