My family dentist referred me to Dr. Robbins office because of my daughter's high anxiety towards doctor's/dentist's. When I called to schedule my appointment I explained to the receptionist that my daughter is very anxious about coming to the dentist. I told them I was hoping we could work through these feelings and have this be a positive experience. I was told at that time, "We have never had a child we weren't able to see". We arrived at the dentist and I had to carry my daughter inside unwillingly. Once inside she was crying and upset. She did not make this experience easy, but the way we were treated at this pediatric dentist was uncalled for! No one spoke to us at all from behind the desk. As I sat on the floor with my daughter trying to calm her and explain that she would be ok, a dental hygienist came out to speak to us. She told my daughter that they won't be doing anything hard today, just taking pictures and using a rubber toothbrush to clean her teeth. She then told my five year old daughter, "You need to stop behaving this way, you are to old to behave like this!" I explained to her that my daughter has high anxiety and that I explained this to the receptionist when I scheduled the appointment. She walked away and then I continued to talk with my child. About 5-8 minutes later a different dental hygienist came out and handed me a sticky note. She said, "Dr. Robbins says that your child needs to be sedated and we don't do that in our office. Here is the place we refer to for that." No one tried to work through this with us! It was very evident from the start that they had no time to deal with a child who was going to cry or be this upset in their office. It was obvious to me that even though they are considered a pediatric dentist they do not understand how fear and anxiety need to be addressed. If your child is not going to be a happy, compliant patient then I would recommend you see another dentist. This office clearly has no time for that.
All USA
My family dentist referred me to Dr. Robbins office because of my daughter's high anxiety towards doctor's/dentist's. When I called to schedule my appointment I explained to the receptionist that my daughter is very anxious about coming to the dentist. I told them I was hoping we could work through these feelings and have this be a positive experience. I was told at that time, "We have never had a child we weren't able to see". We arrived at the dentist and I had to carry my daughter inside unwillingly. Once inside she was crying and upset. She did not make this experience easy, but the way we were treated at this pediatric dentist was uncalled for! No one spoke to us at all from behind the desk. As I sat on the floor with my daughter trying to calm her and explain that she would be ok, a dental hygienist came out to speak to us. She told my daughter that they won't be doing anything hard today, just taking pictures and using a rubber toothbrush to clean her teeth. She then told my five year old daughter, "You need to stop behaving this way, you are to old to behave like this!" I explained to her that my daughter has high anxiety and that I explained this to the receptionist when I scheduled the appointment. She walked away and then I continued to talk with my child. About 5-8 minutes later a different dental hygienist came out and handed me a sticky note. She said, "Dr. Robbins says that your child needs to be sedated and we don't do that in our office. Here is the place we refer to for that." No one tried to work through this with us! It was very evident from the start that they had no time to deal with a child who was going to cry or be this upset in their office. It was obvious to me that even though they are considered a pediatric dentist they do not understand how fear and anxiety need to be addressed. If your child is not going to be a happy, compliant patient then I would recommend you see another dentist. This office clearly has no time for that.