Dental delight: Janesville office has jolly time with scraper, drill
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The crowded waiting room at Robinson & Prijic Family Dental.
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Dental assistant Angie Hermanson uses a blue wavelength light to cure white composite filling in 5-year-old Skylynn Jones' cavity.
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Dental Assistant Candy Bubolz cleans Jenessa Pruett's teeth at Robinson & Prijic Family Dental. Pruett is a 4-year-old Headstart student from Janesville.
JANESVILLE — Fun is usually not associated with the high-pitch whine of dental drills and the uncomfortable scraping noise of plaque coming off teeth.
But on Friday, the dentists, hygienists, assistants and support staff of Robinson & Prijic Family Dental were having a great time.
Dr. Robert Prijic went so far as to declare it the “funnest day of the year.”
The occasion? The American Dental Association’s “Give Kids a Smile” day, a national event designed to provide dental care to children who wouldn’t have access to care.
Nationwide, more than 12,000 dentists provided care for almost 399,000 children.
At Robinson & Prijic, five dentists saw 110 kids, said Mary Long Schadel, dental hygienist and “Give Kids a Smile” committee member. Last year, the clinic saw 70 children and provided approximately $17,000 in treatment for free.
“Give Kids a Smile” is a complicated endeavor, requiring months of preparation and, on the day of the event, a complicated choreography between waiting room, dental hygienists and dentists. They never know what kind of dental problems they will encounter.
“It is a lot of fun, it really is,” Long Schadel said.
Many of Friday’s patients seemed to be having a good time, too. Skylynn Sue Jones, 5, inspected a new filling with a mirror. Then she took a good look at all sides of her tongue.
Earlier, under the influence of nitrous oxide, she announced, “You’re silly,” to almost everyone she met, including Prijic.
In another treatment room, Tristan Jones, 7, Skylynn Sue Jones’ cousin, braved the long Novocain needle without a squeak. Of course, both his hands were balled tightly into fists, and he kicked the toes of his boots together until the needle was withdrawn.
Before starting to work, Dr. David Robinson asked Tristan how his mouth felt. Tristan put one of his fingers in his mouth, felt around, and after a long, considering pause said: “This part feels weird, and this part feels OK.”
Tristan had to have a nerve clipped—readers should now clutch their jaws in sympathy—and get a cavity filled, but it didn’t bother him. When he went to meet his mother and grandmother in the waiting room, he was a little subdued, but that’s all. There was some coloring to be done and a bag full of dental treats and toys to be examined.
Meanwhile, Prijic polished Skylynn Sue Jones’ teeth to a beautiful shine. When Prijic asked her what she thought, she gave him a thumbs up and a big smile.
Between patients, Prijic explained that his office was trying to reach people who fall through the cracks. They might be working but not have dental insurance or be making enough to afford care.
Office staff contacted Mat Haeger, Janesville School District manager of health and safety. He contacted the school nurses and principals and asked them for students who particularly need dental help.
Many of the kids had never been to a dentist before, Long Schadel said.
Feb 7, 2011 at 8:19 p.m.
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So most peoples fears about the dentist are drills and needles. So let's just confirm this by printing an article about them. My child's dentist does not use these terms. And having a nerve cut. You couldn't have made that sound better. They obviously do not work on children very much. They should not have to use laughing gas for a cleaning. And you would use a dental dam when filling cavities so they don't swallow any pieces.
Feb 7, 2011 at 10:53 a.m.
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Floss once a day and it will be less pain every 6 months. Try it it works! Good for your heart too. When they said floss or else because you bones are eroding I said YES SIR.
Feb 7, 2011 at 10:49 a.m.
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What is on her nose? Laughing gas for a teeth cleaning?
HAY I hate the dentist.
I love to go see Lloyd Smith and Dr Karrells, Lyons.
Feb 6, 2011 at 12:35 p.m.
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Robinson & Prijic run the most professional dental business I have ever been to, and after finding them, I wouldn't go anywhere else! Kudos to all the wonderful people working there and the amount of dedication it took to see and treat that many kids in one day! Nice job!
Feb 6, 2011 at 12:10 p.m.
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This is the best dental practice I've been to, and I've lived in New York state, California, and Arkansas. They have a great staff and Dr. Bauwens is the best. Good for them for giving of their time for this effort.
Feb 6, 2011 at 7:40 a.m.
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I cannot say enough about how wonderful my experiences have been at Robinson & Prijic. Dr. Robinson turned a scary root canal & crown into a "not so painful or scary" experience for me. He called me after hours from home and checked up on me after each procedure. They have also done a great job with my 6 year old son (who was scared at another pediatric dentist office we tried in town) however has done GREAT with the Dental Assistants and Dr. Miller at Robinson & Prijic. This dentist office is now "out of network" for my new dental insurance however I happily pay the extra to continue going to this office. Good job Robinson & Prijic Family Dental!
Feb 6, 2011 at 7:25 a.m.
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I took one of my sons there on Friday for this. One dentist in town takes our insurance but won't see my son because he cried one time a few years ago. I was so impressed with the staff at Robinson-Prijic, they were kind,friendly, and fast. I stood there for 10 min. after we were done telling them how I was so grateful to them. Who knows how much I would have had to pay out of pocket without this wonderful service. I know I certainly would not have been able to afford it, so Thank you, Thank you, to all that volunteered their time on Friday. Not only did my son get his teeth cleaned, he was happy and most importantly not scared!
Feb 6, 2011 at 12:35 a.m.
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No good deed goes unpunished.
Feb 5, 2011 at 9:54 p.m.
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We love Robinson and Prijic Dental! Especially Dr Bauwens... Thanks so much for providing this wonderful service to the community.
Feb 5, 2011 at 9:36 p.m.
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I've never been to this dentist, and even if I had, I wouldn't recount my experiences here because this is not that type of story or forum. This is a story about a local business giving back to the community and they should be lauded for their work. Whether the staff worked for free I don't know, but either way it cost the company a considerable amount of funds to offer this nice service. Unless you're Mother Theresa herself, why don't you shut your whiny traps and find a different website on which you can post your inappropriate comments. Stay on topic or don't comment at all! In the meantime, thank you Dr. Prijic and staff for giving so generously of yourselves to this community.
Feb 5, 2011 at 8:44 p.m.
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I have to say that this is the best dentist office that I have ever been to! They truly are exceedingly awesome! They call to follow-up after many procedures and care enough to listen. My dentist, Dr. Unterbrunner, always remembers me and remembers what is going on in my life. They also do all sorts of visits to the preschools to teach about dental health. This dentist office rebuilt a trust in me that made me go back and get braces as an adult after some really bad experiences as a child and as a teen with other dentists. I would recommend them highly, to everyone and anyone! Even my kids love to go! Go Dr. Unterbrunner!! Janesville appreciates you!
Feb 5, 2011 at 8:11 p.m.
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i'll counter abc123 - i've been going to dr. robinson's office since i moved here in 1999.
the entire staff is top notch - and they perform outstanding work.
Feb 5, 2011 at 7:48 p.m.
Feb 5, 2011 at 6:29 p.m.
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Waterdiamond79--If you look at the picture and know anything about dentistry you will notice that the asst. doing the cleaning is indeed polishing the child's teeth. I would not go to that dental office myself but I do think that what they did is great for all of the children out there with no insurance coverage.
Feb 5, 2011 at 6:02 p.m.
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I think it is great that the dental office does provide such a great service to our community.
I have two problems and wonder if any one else caught this.
First it is illegal for an assistant to clean teeth unless she is just polishing.
Second, How many of these children received nitrous? It should only be used for those who are fearful or uncooperative.
I wish the gazette would have written the article a bit different.
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