Sunny Hills Pediatric Dentistry focuses on preventative care and encourages strong oral hygiene habits to help children have healthy smiles that will last a lifetime.
Owner Jamie Fairchild said when she bought the Research Blvd. practice from retiring pediatric dentist Albert Tate, she changed the practice name to Sunny Hills to reflect the cheerful, upbeat nature of the practice. She continued to focus on prevention and was the only provider at the location for the first few years before hiring on other providers.
Now, Sunny Hills is fully staffed and opened a new Avery Ranch location May 1 at 10510 W. Parmer Lane, Ste. 100, Austin.
“There was a need for us to provide services in the Avery Ranch area, and by expanding our services in that direction, we’re hopeful we can serve many more families,” Fairchild said.
The Sunny Hills difference
Patients can feel Sunny Hills’ cheerful and upbeat nature as soon as they walk into the practice. The practice has a fish tank window, a movie room and friendly front staff that greet each patient.
“Our goal is to provide the patient the best experience,” Fairchild said. “They’re walking into an environment where they feel comfortable and safe.”
Fairchild said she and her colleagues do everything they can to focus on children’s needs, from getting them a blanket to explaining the procedure they’re going to do. The practice also allows parents to come back with their children and they can watch them through a viewing window the entire time.
All-female staff of board-certified pediatric dentists with children
The Sunny Hills difference is in the providers. Every provider at the practice is a board-certified pediatric dentist and are mothers with children. The four providers include:“I won't do any treatment on a child that I wouldn't do on my own,” Fairchild said. “The way we practice is really in the best interest of the children and how they’re being cared for. We follow a team approach and involve both the parent and the child in their treatment decisions.”
Becoming board-certified requires additional qualifying exams including an extensive written portion and clinical scenarios provided by a panel of experts. The exam topics can range from preventative care to orthodontics, and test takers are expected to answer panelists as if they were the parents of their patients.
“I can appreciate being board-certified and my colleagues and I agree on a lot of different scenarios because of it,” Fairchild said. “We share the same guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and follow the same standard of care.”
What to expect at your first visit
One of Fairchild’s top priorities is helping patients establish their dental home by either one year of age or the eruption of a child’s first tooth, which is recommended by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Dental Association (ADA), and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD).
Children who have a dental home are more likely to receive appropriate preventive and routine oral health care.
When a child is first visiting a provider at Sunny Hills, the first thing providers will ask is if the parent has started brushing the child’s first tooth. They’ll also go over anticipatory guidance which includes tips and recommendations including oral hygiene, instruction, dieting guidelines and injury prevention.
“We recommend a very minimal smear of fluoride toothpaste two times a day on that first tooth to get them in that routine of oral hygiene,” Fairchild said. “We’ll talk about diet and minimizing sugar and juices, and if the mother is breastfeeding, we recommend wiping the tooth with a small cloth to prevent sugar from sitting on the teeth.”
Providers at Sunny Hills spend as much time as they need to with each patient and treat them as if they were their own children.
“We put the patient first,” Fairchild said. “We’re here to educate the parents, but ultimately, they are able to make the choice for their child, and we will respect their needs and wishes for their child. We will never refuse treatment to a child based on parents' needs or wishes.”
Learn more about Sunny Hills
Sunny Hills is a medicaid accepting office and sees children ages zero to 18. The practice has locations at 11149 Research Blvd Ste. 270, Austin and 10510 W. Parmer Lane, Ste. 100, Austin. Make an appointment at the practice and learn more on the website.
The above story was produced by Senior Multi Platform Journalist Summer Anderson with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of its "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
