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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
pediatric dentists: Dana Greenwald, Amy Light, Ricardo Perez
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Anonymous
I don't think that is accurate. We see Dr. Kuwabara...I have Carefirst BC/BS and he takes it. He also took MetLife when I had that. I would check...I had the impression he took alot of insurance. We really like him. |
Anonymous
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We go to Dr. Perez. He came HIGHLY recommended by my dentist (Dr. Keith Progebin), whose judgment I trust completely. Dr. Perez and his staff are great. My children really like them. I will add that my older DD has genetically bad teeth and has had extensive work. She is extremely anxious and did great with Dr. Perez. Yes, he prescribed valium for her (she's 7), but she really needed it the first few procedures. Now she does fine without it.
I'm not concerned about not being able to go back with the kids. I understand it. I assume he doesn't want the parents to interfere (and if parents behave like I see them do at swimming lessons, etc., where these helicopter parents are all over their kids, I completely understand). It's an open office and there are plenty of assistants around, so it's not like there is anything untoward going on. He is expensive, but I've accepted that it is that way for any good dentist. To me, with our family's dental issues, cost isn't really a consideration (and I can say that because I spent over $2000 in one month last sumer on dentistry). I'm sure there are a lot of great pediatric dentists in the DC area, but I think Dr. Perez must top that list -- and we drive from Virginia to go see him, so it's not even convenient. |
Anonymous
| I am not a fan of Dr Light!!!!!!!!!!! |
Anonymous
We see Dr. Kuwabara, too, and really like him. I love how the office is so open and calm. As for insurance, if he doesn't take it, his assistant does all the paperwork for you, so all you have to do is mail the claim off. It may not be completely reimbursed, but the process to submit a claim is really easy. We were there in Dec. and he didn't take Carefirst BCBS (my insurance), but my husband has dental through Delta Dental and they did take that (our kids are covered by both). |
Anonymous
| we go to perez and have been happy. the kids DO go back alone, but you can SEE them through glass, there are no shut door kind of shananigans going on. |
Anonymous
| We also go to Dr. Perez and are happy with the office (the scheduling woman can be annoying on the phone though). My 7 year old had his first cavity filled using the laser technique -- absolutely no pain meds needed (not even novocaine) because it didn't hurt at all. |
Anonymous
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We also had some experience w/ Dr. Perez. While I think the work he did was excellent, and the office is certainly well-appointed, a number of things caused us concern -- 1) he actually missed an abcess because he did not do a full physical exam but rather relied on xrays only even though the patient was present, 2) he does not allow parents back with patients and this is a major red flag/deal breaker for us (had we known in advance and had it not been an emergency near the weekend, we would have gone elsewhere), 3) he dispenses valium for all ages w/ far too little discussion, IMO and 4) finally, he performed more work than we had agreed upon, without clearing it with me, the parent in advance, just presenting it as a fait accompli despite the fact that I explicitly told the nurse no other work or meds were to be given without my permission. The latter, besides being extremely bad practice in terms of not getting patient consent for a procedure, was also a costly financial error for us personally since the work he took the liberty to perform would have been fully covered by a preferred provider and could have easily been performed safely at another time. Instead, we ended up paying hundreds of dollars extra that was not reimbursable but would have been otherwise.
Exactly. |
Anonymous
| I know some parents are probably over the top and hard to deal with, but I think that comes with the territory when you're a ped dentist. I don't care how nice an office he has or how highly recommended he is, there is just no way in hell I'm letting my 3-yr old go back alone. NO WAY. His office policy has definitely cost him my business. |
Anonymous
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We passed on Perez for the same reason.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dr. Dana. 
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Anonymous
| Dr Roya Pilcher, who has practiced with both Dr Greenwald and Dr Light, now has her own practice in Spring Valley: http://www.dckidsdental.com/ We thought she was great. |
Anonymous
Not the OP, but I'm looking for a pediatric dentist for my DS also. Thanks to all the PPs for the posts. I think the 'not going back' would be an issues for us. Also, the Valium. Is it given to everybody? That'd be a tough sell for me! |
Anonymous
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We just went to Dr. Greenwald for my dd's first dentist appt. She was 3 and wary of strangers. The staff was great with her. She was a bit scared of the chair and the staff was fine with her sitting on my lap. Halfway through, she decided she was done with lying down and they worked on her sitting up for a while until she was willing to lie back down. After, they painted dd's nails, which she thought was the best thing ever.
My only complaint was that the wait between the hygienist finishing and Greenwald coming in was too long. |
Anonymous
| I haven't taken my kid to a dentist yet (dreading it), but can someone explain to me why a kid would be prescribed valium at the dentist? I've never heard of this. Is it to calm them down? Is it a common practice? Seems like a heavy-duty drug to give for a kid's dentist visit. |