Children's Dental Health Clinic

The Children's Dental Health Clinic provides quality, comprehensive oral health services that include General and Pediatric Dentistry, Oral Hygiene Education, an Early Intervention Program, Orthodontia, Endodontics, Periodontics, Oral Surgery, treatment with intravenous sedation, and treatment under general anesthesia in the operating rooms of the Miller Children's & Women's Hospital.

We are an accredited premier training facility for multi-dental specialties. In partnership with the University of Southern California (USC) we provide resident training for Pediatric Dentists and Oral Surgeons. In partnership with Cerritos College and West Coast University we serve as a training site for Registered Dental Hygienists and Registered Dental Assistants.
We advocate for a more effective and expansive social safety net and our team members have served in leadership roles with the prominent industry groups like the California Dental Association, the California Dental Hygienist's Association, and the Dental Board of California.

Our Executive Director, John Blake, DDS, is a staunch advocate for improvements to structural inequalities contributing to inequitable oral health outcomes of children at the local and state levels. Currently serving as President of the California Dental Association, his work has contributed to significant improvements in Denti-Cal, the State of California's Medicaid dental program, which provides coverage for half of California's children and 90% of our patients.

Our team is acutely aware of the challenges in delivering comprehensive, quality care to community members who rely on Medi-Cal Dental coverage to meet their oral health care needs. Because we are committed to providing comprehensive care regardless of ability to pay (or insurers willingness to cover), we only receive approximately 60% of the true costs of services via insurance reimbursements and must make up the remainder with a creative and continuous influx of support from our individuals, corporations, and institutions.

Testimonials

Meet Sam!!

Sam* became our patient in August of 2022, as a 5 year old with level 3 Autism. Due to the severity of his Autism, he was referred from a different dental office to be seen at the CDHC for Specialty Dental Treatment. During his initial visit at the clinic, our team of Pediatric Dentist recommended rendering treatment under Intravenous General Anesthesia (IVGA) due to patient behavior and extensive dental treatment needs.

During his visit under IV Sedation, our team provided Sam with two dental composites (used to restore tooth structure lost through trauma, caries, or other diseases), four extractions (unrestorable teeth due to decay), and 10 stainless steel crowns (used to strengthen the structure of a severely decay tooth). Our Oral Health Education Center (OHEC) was able to provide his family with oral health education, hygiene instructions, and nutritional counseling, specific to our patients with special needs, to further support Sam and his family and avoid future cavities.

The sad reality is that many of our youngest residents like Sam, with the greatest need for quality, affordable care face the greatest barriers to accessing that care. For many of our patients - especially those with special needs or complex medical considerations - we are the only entity that can attend to their comprehensive oral health needs.

*Patient name has been changed due to HIPAA Regulations.