Every child deserves excellent dental care. For some children, getting there takes a little more time, a little more patience, and a team that truly understands what that means. At Lion’s Tooth Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, caring for children with special healthcare needs is not an accommodation we make. It is a core part of who we are and how we practice.
Families drive from across the region to bring their children to us, and we do not take that trust lightly.
Our team has specialized training and extensive experience caring for children with a wide range of needs, including autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, sensory processing disorders, severe dental anxiety and dental phobia, and other behavioral or developmental challenges that make traditional dental visits difficult.
If your child has struggled at other dental offices, or if you have been told that your child’s needs are beyond what a practice can accommodate, we want you to know that we hear that often and it is exactly why families find us.
We do not have one approach for typical patients and a different one for children with special needs. We have one philosophy for every child who walks through our door: meet them where they are, move at their pace, and never rush the relationship between a child and their care.
In practice that means we take the time to explain every step before we take it. We use gentle, age-appropriate language that reduces fear rather than amplifying it. We watch for cues, adjust in real time, and always prioritize a child’s emotional experience alongside their clinical needs. A visit where a child feels safe but little clinical work gets done is still a successful visit. Building trust is the treatment.
We have made intentional choices about our physical environment to support children with sensory sensitivities, including weighted blankets, sunglasses to reduce the brightness of the overhead dental light, dimmed lighting options, and a calm, unhurried atmosphere that avoids unnecessary noise and stimulation. These are not afterthoughts. They are part of how we designed the practice.
For children who need extra time to feel comfortable in a dental setting, we offer dedicated desensitization appointments, and we are proud to be one of the few pediatric practices in the Dayton area to provide them as a structured, intentional program.
Desensitization appointments are short, focused visits lasting 15 to 30 minutes, priced at $45 to $90 per session. They are designed to gradually build your child’s comfort and confidence with the dental environment at their own pace, without any pressure to complete clinical treatment before they are ready.
We use a structured model we call the Gradual Growth of Dental Abilities, a gentle step-by-step progression that begins simply with entering the operatory and sitting in the chair, and builds over time toward a full dental visit including cleaning, radiographs, and restorative treatment if needed. Children do not need to follow the steps in exact sequence. Our team adapts the process to each child’s individual needs, comfort level, and pace.
During desensitization visits, we ask parents to remain as calm, quiet observers. A focused, low-stimulation environment gives children the best possible chance to engage with our team and build confidence without distraction. We will always keep you fully informed and involved in your child’s progress.
The goal is not just a completed dental appointment. The goal is a child who feels safe, capable, and proud of what they accomplished.
When a child’s needs require more support than desensitization alone can provide, we offer nitrous oxide for appropriate patients, as well as in-office general anesthesia with our partner Dr. Justin Klanke, a board certified pediatric anesthesiologist with Safe Sedations.
In-office general anesthesia allows children who are unable to complete treatment while awake to receive all necessary dental care in a single visit, safely, comfortably, and without pain or distressing memories of the experience. This option is particularly meaningful for children with significant anxiety, sensory challenges, or complex treatment needs, and families consistently tell us it changed everything about how their child approaches dental care going forward.
For children who are medically compromised and require a higher level of clinical support than our office setting can provide, our doctors hold operating room privileges at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, consistently ranked among the best hospital systems in the country. This means that when a child’s medical complexity requires the resources of a full hospital environment, your family does not have to start over with an unfamiliar provider. Your Lion’s Tooth doctors are with you, in that operating room, delivering the same trusted care in a setting equipped to handle whatever your child needs.
All sedation decisions are made collaboratively with families, thoughtfully, and always with your child’s individual needs and wellbeing at the center.
If you are a pediatrician, occupational therapist, behavioral therapist, or other provider working with a child who needs dental care in a specialized environment, we welcome your referrals and are happy to collaborate with your team to support the whole child. Please contact our office directly and we will make the process as smooth as possible for your patient and their family.
If you are not sure whether your child’s needs are something we can support, please call us anyway. We would rather have that conversation and help you find the right path forward than have a family go without care because they were not sure where to turn.
