Welcome to the Pediatric Dental Specialist!

Canton pediatric dentist Thank you for choosing a dental office visit with Dr. Stephen Girdlestone at Pediatric Dental Specialist. He is a board-certified pediatric dentist who takes extra care in making your child feel comfortable and secure in a new environment.

Our practice uses very modern equipment to minimize patient discomfort. We also use digital X-rays to overcome parental concerns about excess radiation. At the first visit, a complete oral exam will be performed and X-rays are taken if required.

Helpful Suggestions for Parents

For your child to develop healthy primary teeth, an early visit is recommended within the first 12-18 months of age. When discussing the dental appointment with your child do not mention words like, “needle”, “drill”, “pull”, or “hurt”, they have unpleasant meanings.
Unless requested, or required, it is desirable that the parent stays outside the treatment room to enable Dr. Girdlestone to establish a direct relationship with the child, with other people in the room, the child’s attention is divided and it becomes difficult to gain his/her confidence.
After the examination parents will be consulted with details of the visit and any recommendations for further treatment.
Do not be upset if young children cry, this a normal reaction to anything new and strange.

Appointment Responsibility

We ask that you show up for your appointment 10 minutes in advance in order to speed up turn over time and get your child seated properly. The appointment time is reserved specifically for your child. We follow the policy of making a charge for broken appointments unless 48 hours advance notice is given.

What you should know for your child’s next visit for Followup Dental Treatment

Dr. Girdlestone has diagnosed treatment to be done on your child. To help make certain that their experience is as positive as possible, please follow these general guidelines:

Before your child’s treatment appointment, please give them something very light to eat. We suggest a slice of toast and a glass of water or juice.
Please do not bring other children and siblings to treatment appointments. The safety of your child is our main concern, and unnecessary distractions can interfere with our procedures. Parents who bring other children to this appointment may be asked to remain in the reception area with those children.
Only one parent/guardian allowed escorting the child into their treatment.
In preparing your child at home for their upcoming visit, please be positive when speaking with them. Be mindful of the terminology used by our staff, and try to avoid words that may make them apprehensive.
Remind your child that they will be able to watch a movie! You may bring a movie (DVD or VHS) from home to watch if you wish, but we have hundreds of movies in our video library.

To schedule an appointment with our pediatric dentist, Dr. Steve Girdlestone, please phone 330-491-7777.