Pediatric Dental Center
Creating a Hospital Based Pediatric Dental
Center
In
1995, St. Joseph Hospital opened the Pediatric Dental Center
in response to a growing need among the hospital's pediatric
clinic patients and its participation in a pilot dental sealant
project in two Providence elementary schools. The Pediatric
Dental Center offers comprehensive services ranging from routine
dental care and emergency services, to nutrition and dental
health education. The Dental Center also accepts children
from birth to age twenty years for both preventative and restorative
treatment. "We try to guide children to a lifetime of
good oral health," says Daniel J. Kane, D.M.D., Dental
Director of the Pediatric Dental Center and one of only nine
pediatric dentists in Rhode Island. Dr. Kane leads a team
of highly experienced dentists, hygienists, dental assistants
and bilingual support staff that delivers high quality care
in a modern environment. These patients deserve and are afforded
the best possible treatment and facilities.
Many children are immigrants to the United States and their
parents are not educated about the importance of good oral
health, and don't seek dental services. For most children,
it is their first dental care experience. So helping these
children also means speaking their language and understanding
their culture. Because of the Pediatric Dental Center staff's
diverse ethnicity, patients and their families can converse
and express themselves more easily. As such, staff are also
in a position to learn more about their patients and their
needs for other medical and support services. It's what makes
the hospital's community health center and dental program
so unique and well received by patients.
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