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Pediatric Dentist in Plano, TX

One friendly dentist your children can keep from a first tooth through high school, five minutes from Willow Bend on Coit Road.

Children seen from age one. Thursday evenings and Saturdays. Appointments the same day in most cases.
Girl smiling in the dental chair with her parents during a pediatric dentistry visit in Plano, TX

A Children's Dentist Your Family Can Keep for Years

Most parents start searching for pediatric dentistry in Plano, TX, the week a first tooth appears, or a school form asks for a dental exam date. Westpark Village Dental Care treats children from age one at our office on Coit Road, and Dr. Jordan Hardin is the dentist who will see your daughter at four and again at fourteen, so the same hands can look after that smile at eighteen. Children's dentistry here is not handed off to someone else. A dentist who has watched a smile come in notices a shifting bite, a grinding habit, or early decay while it is still small, because he has every previous visit in front of him instead of a chart he is reading for the first time.

Why Plano Parents Choose Us for Children's Dental Care

Parents comparing pediatric dentistry options tend to ask about the same few things before they book.

  • Care for children from a first tooth to the last teenage checkup
  • Preventive and restorative dental services provided by one dentist rather than a rotating team
  • Kids and adults booked back to back, so one trip covers every smile in the house
  • Thursday evenings until 6 pm and every other Saturday morning
  • Digital scanning instead of the putty trays that make kids gag
  • A friendly team providing care in six languages, including Spanish
Dentist showing a young child a model of the teeth at a first dental visit in Plano, TX

When Should Children First See a Dentist?

Two questions come up before anyone books, and the answers shape how a child feels about the dentist and their own smile for years.

At what age should the first appointment happen?

By the first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth, whichever comes first. That American Dental Association guideline lands earlier than most parents expect, and yes, infants belong in the chair that early. There are no procedures. We count teeth, check the gums, and talk through bottles, sippy cups, and brushing while your little one sits and discovers that nothing happens. A positive dental experience at one is what makes the visit at seven ordinary.

What changes as children grow?

Dental care for kids shifts as they grow. Toddlers need a brushing routine set and thumb or pacifier habits watched. By school age, the molars are in and worth sealing, and a small cavity is worth catching before it needs more than a filling. Adolescents bring bite changes, wisdom teeth, and a new interest in how their smile looks. Keeping all of that care in one office, rather than handing a family to a new dentist every few years, is how a healthy smile lasts a lifetime.

Does Your Child Need a Pediatric Dentist or a Family Dentist?

This is the question behind most searches, and the honest answer depends on the child. A pediatric dentist completes an extra residency after dental school and focuses on very young children, complex medical needs, and kids who cannot get through treatment in an ordinary setting. Most children never need that. Dr. Hardin practices general dentistry, and children are a routine part of the family dentistry in Plano that this practice was built around. Parents who want one office for everybody, and kids who do fine in a calm chair, are exactly who we suit. Ask us at the first visit, and we will tell you straight.

When we refer to a pediatric dentist

Very young children who need extensive treatment, kids with significant special healthcare needs, and children whose anxiety does not settle with the gentle approach described here are better served by a pediatric dentist. Plano has several strong pediatric dentistry practices, and we will point you to one. When a child genuinely needs a pediatric dentist with board certification, an oral surgeon, or an orthodontist, Dr. Hardin refers rather than stretching. Choosing a pediatric dentist is not a judgment on general dentistry. It is a match to the child.

Dental sealants shown on the chewing surface of the back molars

What Plano Pediatric Dental Care Should Cover

Plano pediatric dental care earns its keep in prevention rather than repair. Dental sealants create a physical barrier over the molars and premolars that kids cannot yet clean well with a brush, and they are quick, painless, and done in the same appointment as a cleaning. A sealed molar is easier for a child to keep clean, which keeps a young smile simple. Plano tap water comes from the North Texas Municipal Water District, which adjusts fluoride to 0.7 parts per million, so most local children already get some protection from the tap. Households that filter heavily or drink bottled water do not, and that is worth telling us. We provide fluoride treatment when a child's risk calls for it rather than by default, because good oral health comes from checking rather than assuming. Small smiles change fast, and six months is long enough for a lot to happen.

  • Checkups and cleanings every six months to keep a growing smile on track
  • Dental sealants on new molars
  • Fluoride treatment when a child needs it
  • Digital X-rays only when they are warranted
Young patient looking up at the dentist during a calm childrens dental visit

Helping Anxious Kids Feel Safe and Comfortable

Dental anxiety in children is mostly about surprise. Our staff provides a child with the same explanation they would give an adult, in the order it will happen, and shows kids the equipment before it goes near them. Children understand far more than adults expect when someone bothers to explain it. The intraoral camera provides a picture on the screen, and most kids find that part genuinely fun. A Medit i700 scanner takes impressions without the cold putty trays that make children gag, and digital X-rays are done in seconds. When treatment calls for it, we can add nitrous oxide or oral conscious sedation so a longer appointment stays calm and comfortable. Nitrous oxide sedation wears off quickly once the mask comes away. Sedation is not our first answer for a nervous child, and most kids never need it, but knowing sedation is available gives parents peace of mind. Children who feel safe come back, and the dental experience they remember is the one where nothing surprised them. Creating a calm room is mostly a matter of pace, and it is why children smile on the way out.

Why Children Love Coming to Our Plano Office

Ask a parent what they want from pediatric dental care, and the answer is rarely clinical. Every child deserves a dental home they are not scared of, and every parent wants a child who is not fighting them in the car. Our office was built for families, so kids meet a friendly staff who know their names, a compassionate team that moves at their pace, and a dentist who explains a filling before he picks anything up. Children love the screen with their own tooth on it, and a happy child at four is a happy patient at fourteen. Parents love knowing the fee before treatment starts, and that is the part new patients tell us they were dreading. Happy kids smile more, and they are easier to treat and far more likely to keep coming back. Comfort is most of the job with young children, and we create a comfortable first visit on purpose, because a child whose dental experience ends well comes back at six months without an argument. That is how pediatric dentistry protects oral health for a lifetime.

Custom sports mouthguard hanging on a teenage athlete's jersey

Dental Services for Plano Teens and Adolescents

Teenagers stop needing a cartoon on the ceiling, but adolescent oral health brings its own pressure points. A fitted mouthguard protects a front smile better than a boil-and-bite guard from a sporting goods aisle, and it is worth raising at a checkup once a teen plays contact sport through Plano Sports Authority leagues or Plano ISD athletics. If a tooth breaks at a Saturday game, it needs emergency dental care, so call us as soon as you can. We watch wisdom teeth through the late teens so an extraction can be planned rather than rushed. For an adolescent unhappy with crowding, clear aligners are provided here, which usually means a smile a teenager will actually love showing in photos, and your son or daughter does not have to start over with a new practice at seventeen.

Dr. Jordan Hardin, the dentist who treats children at WestPark Village Dental Care in Plano, TX

The Credentials Behind Pediatric Dentistry Plano TX

Dr. Hardin earned his DDS at the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry and completes continuing education every year. Our practice is affiliated with the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the Texas Dental Association, and we received the Best of BusinessRate 2024 award for dentists in Plano, Texas. Local parents have trusted us with their families' smiles and rated us 4.9 stars across more than 400 Google reviews, our staff brings more than 25 years of combined dental experience, and we are a member of the Plano Chamber of Commerce. Children receive the same services and care as every adult patient.

Plano parents and children outdoors on a spring afternoon

You will also find us outside the office. We sponsored the Plano Sports Authority facility in 2022 and handed out dental supplies at youth sporting events, raffled an orthodontic case in 2023 to help the Plano Senior High School volleyball team fundraise, and our office takes donations for the Plano Police Department Christmas Cops drive. More than one in four Plano residents was born outside the United States, and our compassionate staff speaks six languages, so a parent can explain a child's medical history in the language they think in. Our patient registration form is available in Spanish.

Pediatric Dentistry FAQs

Questions From Plano Parents

These come up at the front desk more than anything else, usually before a first booking.

My child's school needs a dental form. How fast can you see us?

Usually within the week, and often the same day if you call early. We hold time in the daily schedule, and Thursday evenings until 6 pm plus every other Saturday morning mean a working parent does not have to give up a vacation day to schedule a checkup.

Will my child need X-rays at the first appointment?

Not always. We understand why parents of young children ask, and the answer depends on how old the child is, on how tightly the teeth sit together, and on what we can see without them. When X-rays are warranted, they are digital, which means an image on screen in seconds.

Can our kids and the adults be seen the same morning?

Yes. Back-to-back blocks are one of our most common requests. Tell the front desk how many patients and roughly what each one needs, and we will create a morning that works.

Is a pediatric dentist safer for a toddler than a family dentist?

Not automatically. A pediatric dentist has extra residency training that matters for complex cases, but a healthy toddler with no medical complications usually does well with a general dentist who is patient and gentle. What matters most at that stage is unhurried time in the chair and a team the little one learns to trust. A pediatric dentist is worth the extra trip when the case genuinely calls for one.

Do you take our insurance for children's visits?

We file with most PPO and DPO plans and verify benefits before the appointment, so you know what is covered before treatment starts. We will tell you what your plan covers for pediatric dental visits before anything is booked. Families without insurance can use our own membership plan at 40 dollars per month per person, which covers two exams, two cleanings, and two sets of X-rays a year, plus 15 percent off other dental services.

Schedule Your Pediatric Dentistry Appointment in Plano

You will find us at 1820 Coit Rd, Suite #145, Plano, TX 75075, in Westpark Village at Coit Road and West Park Boulevard, less than five minutes north of the President George Bush Turnpike. That puts us minutes from Willow Bend, Preston Meadow, and Russell Creek, and an easy drive across the 75023, 75074, and 75093 areas. Plano sits mostly in Collin County with a small western portion in Denton County, and patients drive in from Richardson, Carrollton, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Murphy, and The Colony.

Westpark Village Dental Care

Dr. Jordan Hardin

Office Hours

  • Monday8:00 am to 2:00 pm
  • Tuesday8:00 am to 5:00 pm
  • Wednesday8:00 am to 5:00 pm
  • Thursday9:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • FridayClosed
  • Saturday*8:00 am to 1:00 pm

*Second and fourth Saturday of each month.

Ready when your family is

Every child deserves a healthy smile and a dentist they are not afraid of, and we would love to look after that smile. Call (972) 964-8989, and the front desk will find a time that works around school.

Call (972) 964-8989