Pediatric Dentistry of Pleasant Hill
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Doctors reviewed: AmyBeth Harmon
June 2006
Re: Pediatric dentist for first timer?
If you are willing to travel to Pleasant Hill, there is a great practice out here. It is called Pediatric Dentistry of Pleasant Hill. There number is 925-947-1188. They are totally about kids: toys, ballons, videos the whole works! My kids love going there.. Goodluck samantha
July 2004
Re: Worried first dentist visit will be traumatic
Both of my children LOVE to go to the dentist. I felt the same way that you do, but a good pediatric dentist really is the answer. My older child was quite good about brushing, but was clingy at the time I took her the first time. It wasn't even an issue. The dentist has such a child-friendly office with murals on the walls, great toys, balloons, etc... She willingly had her teeth brushed and examined and even had her mouth x-rayed without a fuss and without wanting me. I had the option of sitting beside her or remaining in an open viewing area. (not behind glass, simply a comfortable sitting area with tv and magazines near the examination area.) My youngest child HATES to have her teeth brushed but will pop her mouth open upon request for this dentist. I would recommend taking your twins sooner than later. You'll feel reassured that a trip to the dentist is manageable. Good luck! Our dentist is Dr. Amy Beth Harmon at Pediatric Dentistry of Pleasant Hill. 925-947-1188. This may not be close to your home, but I promise that their professionalism and child-friendly office make it worth the trip! laura
Dec 2002
I'd heard good things about Pleasant Hill Pediatric Dentistry (Amybeth Harmon), so I took my 2-year-old there. First they casually said I should stop breastfeeding immediately, then proceeded to (I felt) blame me for the three cavities they found. I kept catching the dentist and hygienist giving each other meaningful looks that I interpreted as ''Oh no, not another one of those extended-breastfeeding types.'' They said he'd need to be sedated to get fillings, at a cost of something like $600 ($450 of which was payable in advance, for the sedation, and was not covered by any insurance). I left the office in tears and feeling horribly guilty. Fortunately, I found a dentist in Concord, Richard Rissel ...
Our daughter used to go to Dr. Amybeth Harmon in Pleasant Hill. We took her there 3 times (6 months apart)). We couldn't figure out if it was our daughter (quite possibly) or Dr. Harmon that wasn't working out well. The last visit was enough to make us switch out of her office to Dr. Neil Katsura in the Orinda office (we haven't been yet). Dr. Amybeth, as she is commonly referred to, is not good at dealing with a fearful child, which my daughter is. The last visit, while my daughter was lying flat on her back (bottom on my husband's lap and head on Dr. Amybeth's lap - the only way we could get our daughter to allow her to check her teeth), Dr. Amybeth did a fluoride treatment on our daughter without any warning to either our daughter or my husband. She just went into her mouth. Our daughter gagged and threw up all over everyone. Dr. Amybeth didn't even apologize. My husband was horrified, as was I once I heard the story. He also told me she kept muttering under her breath, ''It's Saturday morning.'' That really bugged my husband as he took it to mean the kids who came Saturday mornings were problems. In any case, I called Dr. Katsura's office to make an appointment for her next checkup even though he's only in the Orinda office on Thursdays. I do know classmates of my daughter's who have had great success with Dr. Amybeth, but we had a bad experience. Lori
2001
Can someone recommend a pediatric dentist in Walnut Creek/Lamorinda? Thanks. Lori
Dr. AmyBeth Harmon of Pleasant Hill Pediatric Dentistry is great. My kids love her. My son (4.5 years) is pretty fussy about who he will let touch his teeth (an understatement), and he looks forward to going to see Dr. Harmon. Denise
This April we took our 3-year-old daughter to Amybeth Harmon of Pleasant Hill Pediatric Dentistry (? something like that--look her up in the yellowpages under specialty subheading of pediatric dentistry). It was my daughter's first visit to the dentist. Most of her time was with the hygienist who did a gentle job cleaning her teeth and showed her all the instruments. They took a Polaroid of my daughter holding a huge foam toothbrush and let her pick out a toy from the treasure chest when they were done, both of which my daughter loved. Dr. Amybeth (as she introduced herself) came in for a check and made a point to tell my daughter directly it was time to start flossing and then tell me to help her floss at least a few times a week, daily being ideal but perhaps not possible. The office staff was friendly and they have a gorgeous, kid-oriented office. Fun but not over the top. No TVs in the ceilings! Christina
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