Recommend Children's Dentist Group

I have to update my response on this thread. Since this post Dr. Patel told me that my 3 year old had a cavity and needed it filled. They tried doing it without sedation, but it didn't work. We tried the goofy gas (actually a liquid but I don't remember the name of it) and even that didn't work. Dr. Patel was very impatient with the 3 year old and had him strapped in a papoose....even with the sedation. They weren't able to accomplish what they needed to do and we did not return. He also indicated that there was another cavity that needed filling, but we said hell no. That was well over a year ago.

So, we decided to take them to Virginia Dental Solutions where we still go and all 3 boys were done within 30 minutes. None of them were scared. Each hygenist took her time and was very patient and caring with the boys...especially the youngest one (who just turned 5). He remembered his last trip to the dentist and petrified ever since. Dr. Sharma followed up with all the boys and all 3 checked out perfectly. In fact, Dr. Sharma told us there were no cavities in the youngest even though Dr. Patel indicated there were.

Also, VDS moved locations and are now on the 2nd floor of the tall building near the Potbelly/Fuddruckers plaza.

 

I never post, but I had to weigh in here on dentists. I have never heard of using a restraining device for children in a dentist's office. I can't believe that a good pediatric dentist would have to use something like this.

I have a son who had extreme oral sensitivities & we waited to go to the dentist until he was maybe 3-4 years old. On our first visit, he was very upset, and he ended up just sitting in the chair, looking at a video, and letting the dentist open his mouth & feel the teeth & mouth structure. No cleaning, no xrays, no hygenist. He got a balloon or whatever & that was it. The dentist & staff were super nice & praised him for his courage. On the next visit, he agreed to a cleaning, which was a huge step, but still no flouride or x-rays. Gradually he worked up to x-rays, and now he is a very brave 2nd grader.

The dentist we use & that I highly recommend is Dr. Skordalakis, in Sterling. Yes, a bit of a drive, but worth it to me. He is wonderful with kids, and every hygenist I have seen has been very patient. They show videos in the ceiling & have a kids' waiting room with toys/video games. Also, I think his rates are reasonable compared to what I have heard from parents who go to other practices.

 

We just went to Dr. Woo today and my 4 year old has a ton of cavities and will definitely require IV sedation. They told me the that the anesthesiologist they use (Olympic Anesthesia) does not accept MetLife which is our insurance carrier… were you able to use insurance for the IV sedation?

 

I'm going to second Dr. Skordalakis in Sterling.
(703) 421-3000
46950 Jennings Farm Dr, #160, Sterling, VA 20164

I hate leaving Ashburn for appts. but I will go out of my way to go to Dr. S. I have one child with mild sensory issues and our previous dentist's hygienists acted like they couldn't have cared less. There's nothing like having your child puke at a dentists appt. We went to Dr Duru for 2 years until I got fed up. I politely asked to change hygienists and got a rude response from the office staff and never went back. They also kept telling us our kids needed seals on their teeth. We never got the seals and my kids have never had cavities after several years.

We tried the Virginia Dental Solutions Practice near the old wing place but had non stop billing issues with them (their fault). I also disagreed with a procedure Dr. Novick was pushing on us. We did not have good experiences with either office.

We've had nothing but gentle, patient hygienists at Dr. S's office. He does not push unnecessary procedures and has been helpful with questions we have regarding braces for a preteen. He is also very easy to talk to and if you have concerns, he is open and not defensive.

 

broadlandsmom - I would highly recommend a call to Met Life. If the child is under 6, they have a standard policy to accept IV sedation as a covered procedure. It may depend upon your policy, but when I called to verify, my coverage is 70% for IV Sedation.

This has been my one big complaint with Dr Woo, and more specifically Donna. Just because the Anesthesiologist does not accept it, does not mean that Met Life will not cover it. Unfortunately, I think Donna is either being lazy or is just misinformed.

You will need to submit the claim yourself. Get the claim form from Met Life and make sure to get receipts for all expenses paid... including oxygen. Dr Woo will bill you for the oxygen as well because they somehow decided that this is not covered... which again is not true (at least according to my call and verification by Met Life).

We have our appointment tomorrow for IV Sedation so I will let you know. And feel free to contact me for more questions and lessons learned. and by the way, Olympic Anesthesia (Dr. Tran) is in the provider network with Met Life so they already have all the info on him they need).

 

We go to Ashburn Children's Dentistry and choose Dr. Rishita for our 3 kids. We have been more than pleased with their care for our children, willing to pay a little extra because it's out of network for us. My 7yo is super sensitive and they did not push my child in order to get all of his teeth cleaned. I think it took 4 visits every 6 months before he finally got all teeth cleaned and x-rayed. And they were wonderful with him when he had to have a major procedure (frenectomy) that required sedation (laughing gas).......no papoose, no tears, no yelling, just an all-in-all good experience. Going a step further, it's comforting to know that they are treating my 2 other children's frenectomys differently since they are different types of issues. So they pay attention . My kids also love the videos they can pick out and watch during the procedures.

 

Sorry I was slow in getting back into this discussion but for what it is worth, we are done with our Cavity visit, IV sedation and all is looking very good. The appointment went very well and the IV sedation went well too, so side affects or problems. I am glad that we did this for treating the cavities.

As for the insurance, Met Life covered all of this. The IV sedation is a covered procedure through Met Life (at least for our policy). What we learned is that you need to get Dr Woo to write you a letter stating that in her professional opinion, the IV sedation was the best choice since your child would not have been able to sit in the chair for standard drilling (in our case he would have freaked and fought I think).

As soon as we had the letter, claim form and receipt of payment, we submitted our claim to Met Life (fax) and within 4 days we had an approved claim (70% coverage).

The only expense that was out of pocket was the oxygen ($65) but we used flexible spending for that. So all in all, it went smoothly.

Let me know if you have questions....
Dave