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University of Louisville: My Choice for Louisville Pediatric Dentistry

Dental Work

The University of Louisville Pediatric Dental Clinic certainly has a way with kids. Many clinics involve long waits, waiting lists, substandard service and are avoided whenever possible. The University of Louisville Pediatric Dental Clinic has been a pleasure to work with.

Horror of horrors, my son was in need of fillings. To make a long story short, our usual dentist gave him novacaine without warning him that it would be via needle and without warning him that it would make his mouth feel funny. Understandably, my nine year old freaked out and refused to cooperate with the dentist any further once he started to feel funny and the dentist kept trying to pump more novacaine into his mouth, squirting it on him as he wiggled. The dentist didn’t help by immediately becoming frustrated and speaking in loud tones, saying he had to go pick up his truck from the shop before it closed. He suggested that we find a pediatric dentist who would be able to administer anesthetics.

After a long search, we came to the University of Louisville Pediatric Dental Clinic. The dental staff and students there are quite a blessing. One large room contains many child sized dental chairs underneath television sets and one huge train track that supports a train that is circling the room. Several private rooms are available as well for more serious dental work.

Every child starts with a screening appointment to allow the dentist to become familiar with health history and to assign your child to a student or resident. Unless there is a problem, x-rays and treatment discussion will wait until your second appointment.

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The dental clinic has some very serious policies that they uphold to make them rise above other Louisville pediatric dental care options. They always tell the child what they are going to do before they do it. In addition to this, they do things like tap or press an instrument on a child’s hand to show them what it will feel like in their mouth. They give the child a signal, like raising their hand, to use if there is a problem and they need to stop.

Although my son was very nervous about letting them work on his mouth and began to freak, they continued to use humor and to keep even tones when telling him what he needed to do. They eventually were able to calm him enough to allow them to begin (and for the laughing gas to take effect), and he quickly learned that they told him what they were going to do and showed him the instruments they were using.

After an appointment, the child is rewarded with small prizes such as bouncing balls, tooth fairy boxes or parachute men. If another appointment is necessary, the dentist will direct you to the reception area to do so. The entire staff really does their best to relieve the stress that comes with taking a frightened child to the dentist.

As nice as the staff was, the University of Louisville Pediatric Dental Clinic certainly gave my son and me huge sighs of relief – as we left, happy to be finished with the ordeal of dental work. The University of Louisville Pediatric Dental Clinic is open Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm and can be reached at 502-852-5642. They are located at 501 South Preston Street.