Frequently Asked Questions

We are open most weekdays. Please visit our locations page and click on the desired location for the office hours of that particular location. Occasional Friday appointments may be available, however, we have patients that require treatment be completed at our local hospital. Friday is the day reserved for the doctors to perform these hospital cases.

Our policy is to see children seven years and younger in the morning from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. With a good night of rest, younger children tend to have more tolerance and patience with any procedure along with our staff, resulting in a better appointment for the patient. Our afternoon appointments are reserved for our patients eight and older (especially during examination periods).

We gladly accept most insurance and will file your claims for you. We ask that if your child is covered by dental insurance, please bring the insurance card with you at the time of your child’s appointment. We accept Visa, MasterCard, CareCredit, check, and cash payments.

*Please note that any coverage you may have is a benefit, and dental insurance is not intended to cover all of your dental expenses. Once your child is examined by the doctor, a treatment plan will be generated by the computer based on your estimated insurance benefits. Please keep in mind that the estimate presented to you is only an estimate and is different with each case and insurance company depending on how much of your benefits you have previously used. The treatment plan will be reviewed by you and the doctor at the time of your appointment and office personnel prior to any major dental work is initiated. You will receive a copy of this treatment plan at the end of your visit.

The playground areas in all of our offices are cleaned frequently by a company called bioPure, a professional cleaning company. In addition to our playground areas being professionally cleaned, all of the waiting rooms and game areas are also cleaned.

Absolutely! All of the doctors at APDA have received advanced training to manage patients with special needs. Our staff members have also been trained on the specific needs necessary to handle a special needs child. All of our offices are specially designed to be physically accessible for our special patients.

All of our staff members and doctors are highly trained in working with children in any situation during their dental visit with us. When we have a new patient, sometimes we are unsure of how the patient will react to the care he/she will receive. We will treat this patient the same as any other unless there are signs that the patient is unhappy, frightened, nervous, etc. As many parents out there know, each child can react differently under the same circumstances as the next child and sometimes, depending on the child’s mood, it is very hard to predict how the child will behave. We have several rooms dedicated to the children that do better being in a room by themselves, or require additional assistance.

You certainly can. All you need to do is let the staff member who is scheduling your child’s next appointment know the doctor/hygienist it is you would like to see on your next visit. However, please keep in mind that there may be a time where the doctor/hygienist you have requested is out due to an emergency, illness, family matter, etc, therefore your child will be seen by the other doctor/hygienist in the office for that day.

Yes, of course. We prefer new families go back with their children and tour our office. This promotes comfort for you and your child. Parents are welcome to stay with their children during any treatment. We do encourage parents to remain in the reception area after the first visit if comfortable. Our goal is to help children develop independence and to enhance communication with the doctors and staff. Over years we have noticed some parents choose to remain with their children in the treatment area; however, most parents find it more comfortable to wait in the reception area or our parent waiting rooms.

All of our departments (operatory, hygiene, and orthodontic) are designed to have an open, friendly environment and atmosphere. APDA decided to have open bay area’s in order to help our patients feel comfortable with their surroundings and to see other patients (like themselves) being treated by our staff members and the doctors. *For a better understanding of how our bay areas are designed, please view the virtual tour of our offices located under the Our Office link at the top of our web page. Although most treatment areas are open bay, as is common in pediatric and orthodontic offices, we do have private rooms available as well.

APDA utilizes digital radiographic technology that enables reduced x-ray exposure compared to older film techniques. In addition, the computerized images are easier to read and display. You and your child are able to view these images with the doctor on the flat screen computer monitors we have located at each dental station. All of our offices are equipped with this same technology.

Although x-rays are usually taken once per year and digital panoramic (growth) x-rays every three years, each patients situation will be evaluated and radiographs made depending on that particular patients needs.

APDA always has a doctor on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week for our current pediatric and orthodontic patients emergency needs. All of our pediatric and orthodontic doctors have had additional years of dental training in their particular specialty. In addition, our doctors and staff strive each day to meet and exceed the expectations of patients and their families. If at the end of any visit our parents or patients are not 100% happy and satisfied with our practice, we encourage them to contact us immediately. We will do the best we can to resolve any issue.