Accepting New Patients
Accepting New Patients
Finding a dentist who truly gets special needs care is harder than it should be. Many families have been to dental offices that weren’t ready. Providers who moved too fast. Providers who couldn’t adapt. Providers who just didn’t know how to work with a child whose needs fell outside the norm. For parents who’ve been through that, trying again can feel like a lot. At Silicon Beach Pediatric Dental, Dr. Ray Klein and Dr. Hayley Botwin believe every child deserves consistent, good pediatric dental care. The kids who are hardest to treat in a standard setting are often the ones who need it most.
Dr. Ray and Dr. Hayley don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to anything. Special needs dentistry is no exception. Their approach starts with listening. They listen to parents who know their child. They listen to the child themselves, when that’s possible. They listen to input from other providers involved in the child’s care. What works for one child on the autism spectrum may not work for another child on the spectrum. What helps a child with sensory needs may not help a child with a different set of concerns.
Special needs dentistry isn’t a single clinical technique. It’s a commitment to adapting the space, the pace, and the approach to fit the child. For some kids, that looks like a slow, easy introduction to the office over several visits before any exam or treatment. For others, it means specific positioning or different tools. It might mean working with the child’s occupational therapist or behavior team to figure out what helps most. For kids with more complex medical needs, it may mean going over the medical history carefully with the child’s doctor before scheduling certain dental exams and cleanings.
Dr. Ray and Dr. Hayley see kids across a broad range of conditions, needs, and backgrounds. Some of the families they work with regularly include:
If your child has specific needs that aren’t on this list, that doesn’t mean we can’t help. A direct conversation before the appointment is often the most useful first step.
A lot of what makes a dental visit go well for a child with special needs happens before the child ever enters the building. Parents can share what their child responds to, what triggers distress, and what has worked in other medical settings. Dr. Ray and Dr. Hayley use that information to prepare. This might mean adjusting the order of things. It might mean cutting certain sounds or sensations where possible. It might mean building extra time into the appointment so nothing feels rushed.
For some families, a pre-appointment office visit can be genuinely valuable. Some call it a desensitization visit or orientation appointment. The child comes in and sees the environment. They sit in the chair and meet the team. Then they leave, with no clinical work done. It sounds simple, but that kind of low-stakes exposure can meaningfully change how the child experiences later visits. Not every child needs this, but for those who do, it’s available.
Dental anxiety is common in kids generally. It’s often stronger in kids with developmental differences or sensory needs. Dr. Ray and Dr. Hayley use a range of behavioral and communication tools to help kids feel comfortable during visits. This includes tell-show-do, where the team narrates and shows a step before doing it. It includes giving kids choices and a sense of control where possible. It includes adjusting the pace based on how the child is responding in the moment.
Nitrous oxide, commonly called laughing gas, is also an option for kids who need a little extra support during treatment. It’s a mild, fast-acting option that wears off quickly and doesn’t need IV access or a recovery period. For kids with bigger treatment needs where standard office-based care isn’t realistic, Dr. Ray and Dr. Hayley will talk through the options. This may include a referral to a provider who treats under general anesthesia at a hospital or surgical center.
Dr. Ray Klein and Dr. Hayley Botwin have built their Culver City practice around treating every child as an individual. That’s exactly the approach special needs dentistry takes. Dr. Ray is a board-certified pediatric dentist, and Dr. Hayley is board-eligible; both bring the training and hands-on experience it takes to care for kids with complex medical or behavioral needs. They take their time, they communicate honestly, and they don’t move faster than a child is ready to go.
Silicon Beach Pediatric Dental accepts most PPO insurance plans. If your child has specific health conditions, coverage for certain services may vary. The front desk team can help you understand what your plan covers before the appointment. If you’ve been looking for a dental home that can genuinely work with your child, reach out through our contact form. Tell us a little about your child, and we’ll go from there.
Mon-Fri: 9am – 5pm
