Events

Find out what the Pediatric Dental Specialists of Greater Nebraska team is doing to keep up with the most advanced technology, techniques, and services available in pediatric dentistry. Browse through our event photos. Learn how our team is taking an active role in helping our community. Celebrate being part of our dental family!

Dental Health Month Coloring Contest

In celebration of Children's Dental Health Month we are having a coloring contest. We will have 2 winners at each location. The winners will receive their very own Sonicare toothbrush! Please be sure to download the coloring sheet for the location that your child visits. After you complete the coloring sheet send it in to us at the address listed on the sheet and we will display your art in our office! The winner of the coloring contest will be selected at the end of February. Thanks for helping us celebrate Children's Dental Health Month! We are excited to see your coloring sheets!

Pediatric Dental Specialists expands its Grand Island location

With a growing practice, Pediatric Dental Specialists of Greater Nebraska has moved to a new Grand Island location at 425 N. Diers Ave. Suite 3 and has expanded its practice.Practice manager for both the Grand Island and Hastings locations is Dave Johnson.

The practice was started in Hastings 35 years ago by Dr. Edward Lockwood, who is still a practicing dentist with the firm. The business is owned by Dr. Jessica Meeske. The firm also has a third dentist, Dr. Holly Portwood. With the practice still growing, Johnson said, plans are under way to have a fourth dentist by July 2012.

The practice has always specialized in pediatric dental care, Johnson said.
He said the practice expanded to Grand Island more than 10 years ago. Until its recent move, it had been at 2414 W. Faidley Ave.

"The new location has much greater space and more efficient use of the space," Johnson said. "It will now lead to us having expanded hours both in terms of the length of the day and additional days." He said the practice officially opened at its new location on Aug. 1.

"Our customers love the new facility," Johnson said. "They love the added space and the new colors. The space that we had worked very well, but it was an older facility and in tighter quarters. With our move, we have all new equipment, and it is really state of the art."

That new technology includes digital radiograph X-rays and intraoral camera. The key, Johnson said, "is making it a comfortable environment for kids." He said the new location has added room for interactive kids games, along with areas where kids can watch videos.

Along with the practice's growth in Grand Island, Johnson said, "about half of the patients that we see are referred to us by other general dentists or by medical doctors. They are being referred to us from a huge area outside Grand Island. We have patients every day who are traveling several hours to come see us." Being specialists in pediatric dentistry, Johnson said, they see children for all types of dental needs. "One of the things we really stress is bringing in your child for their first dental visit at age 1," Johnson said. Those dental visits at an early age are important, Johnson said, as they help to condition children about regular preventive dental checkups throughout their life. But, he said, they also treat children who have severe decay and need work to fix their teeth, which sometimes involves a need to go to the hospital.

Johnson said they see children up through their teen years. Their mission statement is, "Pediatric Dental Specialists of Greater Nebraska partners with parents to create healthy smiles and early positive dental experiences that last a lifetime." "Our dentists received added training beyond the normal dental school," Johnson said. "They go to the dental school but also beyond to two or three years of residency that is just focused on the needs of kids. What that really does, and why we get a lot of referrals, is that helps them in terms of treating kids that may have additional medical problems, behavioral issues and are just better versed in how to handle the needs of kids from a dental perspective."

Johnson said the practice's trained staff strives on a daily basis is to make sure "that we are working with the kids and parents together with our staff to create a positive experience. Part of it is our environment and how we are able to do things. It sets them on the course for good dental care throughout their lifetimes." He said education is a big part of what they do, "from our assistants to our hygienists to our dentists teaching those kids about brushing their teeth and flossing but examples of good and bad items when it comes to their teeth." Along with specializing in children's dentistry, Johnson also said Pediatric Dental Specialists offers affordable care for working families. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays; 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Fridays; and closed Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. However, Johnson said that, with the new location, they will be expanding their office hours in the near future.

"We can do more in the time we are here now, but we are also going to expand the time that we are here," he said.
For more information about Pediatric Dental Specialists in Grand Island, call 381-4452 or visit the website at www.MyPediatricDentalSpecialists.com
By Robert Pore
robert.pore@theindependent.com

The Nebraska Mission of Mercy

The Nebraska Mission of Mercy is a FREE dental clinic. NMOM began in October 2005 and this year our own Dr. Jessica Meeske was the site chair for this wonderful event. The photos show the Pediatric Dental Specialist team hard at work!

The objective of the Nebraska Mission of Mercy project is not only to provide free dental care and education to low-income residents, but also to develop a continuing project that will reach the underserved population for years to come and improve the overall dental health and general health of all Nebraskans.

The Tri-Cities Mission of Mercy was held Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at the Exhibition Building at Fonner Park, State Fair Grounds in Grand Island. Doors opened at 5:00 a.m. to begin registration. Treatment hours were from 5:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on both days and were offered on a first come, first serve basis. Over 1300 patients were seen and over 6200 procedures were completed.

New Grand Island Facility Update

We have new photos of the construction progress for our new Grand Island facility. We've gone from an empty lot to an actual building in last few months. We look forward to opening full time this summer! See More!

Dr. Meeske Receives National Recognition for Oral Health Care initiative

We are pleased to announce that Dr Jessica Meeske is a 2010 recipient of the prestigious Shills' Recognition Award by the Program Advisory Board of the Dr. Edward B. Shills' Entrepreneurial Education Fund administrated by the American Dentistry Association Foundation (ADA).   She was one of four people recognized from across the country in Philadelphia, PA on October 26th.
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Kool Aid Days!

It was great seeing so many of you at Kool Aid Days! Several of the Pediatric Dental Specialist team members spent the day handing out spray water bottles, Frisbees and floss to the crowd. We hope everyone had a wonderful time, stayed "Kool" and enjoyed their "Days"! We can't wait until next year!
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Pooh Corner Field Trip

We had a wonderful time showing some of the students of a Pooh Corner Pre-School class around our office. Thanks to all that helped and we hope to see you soon!