Kids Dentist Near Claremont, CA: A Free Second Opinion Before You Say Yes

Why Two Dentists Can Hand You Two Different Plans

Most disagreements between offices are not about whether a tooth has decay. They are about what to do with the small stuff: a shadow on an X-ray that may be a cavity starting or may be nothing, a baby molar with a cavity that is eighteen months from falling out, a crowded set of front teeth at age 7. One dentist watches it, another treats it, and both can defend the choice. The spread gets wider when an office is set up around volume or around sedation, because the plan that fits the schedule tends to be the one that gets written.

Where good dentists should not disagree is on the serious things: a tooth with an abscess, decay that has reached the nerve, an infection that is causing pain or swelling. If the first plan includes one of those, the second opinion will almost always agree, and the useful question becomes how and when, not whether.

So when you bring a plan here, the exam goes tooth by tooth against your child's X-rays, and each item gets one of three answers: agree, disagree, or wait and recheck in six months. You get that in writing, with a price next to anything we would do, and the reasoning for anything we would not.

What the Visit Looks Like

Bring the other office's treatment plan and, if you can, its X-rays; a dental office is required to release them when you ask, and the front desk here will request them for you with a signed release if you would rather not call. If the X-rays are more than a year old or do not show the teeth in question, new ones are taken at no charge. Dr. Javan examines your child, looks at every tooth on the plan on the screen with you, and explains what he sees in plain terms. Then he tells you what he would do, which is sometimes exactly what the first dentist said.

There is no fee for any of it and no expectation that you switch. Families use the second opinion three ways: to confirm the first plan and go back to their own dentist with peace of mind, to have the treatment done here, or to find out that most of the plan can wait. All three are fine outcomes. The pediatric dentistry page describes what a routine visit here includes if you do decide to stay.

Three Recommendations Worth a Second Look

General anesthesia for a small child's fillings. Sometimes it is the right call: a two- or three-year-old with decay on most of the back teeth, or a child who cannot be treated awake for medical or developmental reasons. Often it is not, and two or three short visits with nitrous oxide get the same work done with the child awake. We have no incentive to steer this either way. The anesthesiologists are on staff, so a sedation case is no harder to schedule here than an awake one, and the recommendation can follow the child rather than the calendar. How each option is chosen is on the sedation page.

Crowns on several teeth at once. A stainless steel crown is the right repair for a baby molar with a large cavity. It is not the right repair for a tooth with a small cavity, or for a tooth that will be gone within the year. When a plan lists crowns on four, six or eight teeth, the second opinion goes tooth by tooth: how deep the decay is on the X-ray, how long that tooth has left, and whether a filling or simply watching would do. Some of those crowns usually survive the review; some do not.

Orthodontic treatment at 6 or 7. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first orthodontic look by age 7, and some children do need early treatment, for a crossbite or for front teeth that stick out far enough to be at risk. Most do not. If your child has been told they need braces or an expander now, the orthodontic evaluation here is free, done by Dr. Lyndon Tran, a board-certified orthodontist, and his most common answer at that age is to wait and recheck. What early treatment is for, and when it can wait, is on the early orthodontics page.

Ask About a Second Opinion on Braces

Insurance for Claremont Families: PPO Pre-Estimates and Medi-Cal Dental

Claremont is in Los Angeles County, which simplifies one thing: there is no IEHP card to sort out. A child on Medi-Cal here is covered directly by Medi-Cal Dental, and we bill it. The program pays for the checkup and cleaning twice a year, X-rays, fluoride, sealants, fillings, crowns and emergency visits for children under 21, so a second opinion and the treatment that follows cost a Medi-Cal family nothing.

Many Claremont families have a PPO through an employer, and for anything beyond a cleaning we send the plan to the insurer as a pre-treatment estimate before scheduling, so the share you owe is a number from the plan, not a guess from the front desk. HMO dental plans are not accepted. Without insurance, the exam and X-rays are free, the full new-patient visit with cleaning and fluoride is $100, and every item on a treatment plan is priced in writing per tooth before it is booked.

When the First Plan Was Right

It often is. A second opinion that agrees with the first has still done its job: you now have two dentists saying the same thing, and you can proceed without the nagging feeling that you were sold something. Two situations should not wait for a second visit at all. A swelling on the gum, a tooth that keeps a child up at night, or a face that is puffy on one side is an infection, and someone answers the phone here from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. every day of the week, with same-day appointments held back for exactly that. The other is a permanent tooth knocked out: keep it moist, in milk if you have it, and call while you drive.

Book a Free Exam and X-rays

Para Familias de Claremont

Si otro consultorio le entregó un plan de tratamiento para su hijo y quiere que alguien más lo revise antes de aceptar, aquí la segunda opinión es gratuita, en español, con las radiografías en la pantalla y una explicación diente por diente. Puede traer el plan y las radiografías del otro dentista, o nosotros las pedimos por usted. Claremont pertenece al condado de Los Ángeles, así que Medi-Cal Dental cubre directamente el examen, la limpieza, las empastaduras y las coronas de los niños, sin IEHP de por medio. Con un plan PPO, enviamos la estimación a la aseguradora antes de programar nada, para que sepa su parte con anticipación. Sin seguro, la primera revisión con radiografías es gratuita. Estamos a unos cinco minutos del centro de Claremont, bajando por Indian Hill. Llame al 909-741-7052.

Getting Here From Claremont

Kids Dental Castle & Orthodontics

1532 San Bernardino Ave #A1

Pomona, CA 91767

909-741-7052

Monday–Friday 9–6 · Saturday 8–2

Take Indian Hill Boulevard south from the Village, across Arrow Highway, to San Bernardino Avenue, the last street before the 10; the office is just west of Indian Hill, at 1532 San Bernardino Avenue, Suite A1. From the Village it is about five minutes; from north Claremont, under ten. There is no freeway involved unless you want one.

We see children from every Claremont Unified school and from families connected to the Claremont Colleges, and the second-opinion visits in particular tend to come from Claremont, Montclair and Upland. Weekday hours are 9 to 6; Saturdays run 8 to 2, and that is when most second opinions get booked, since the first appointment usually happened on a school day. The contact page has a map and the request form.

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Frequently Asked Questions