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Dentist treats patients who have anxiety, special needs

Photos are displayed on the walls on Dec. 12, 2017 at Children's Dentistry, 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6. (Kailyn Brown/View) @KailynHype
Children's Dentistry employees, from left, Lynn Campos, scheduling coordinator, Lamarious Nichols, dental assistant, and Elizabeth Castillo, who is a biller, pose for a portrait on Dec. 12, 2017 at 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6. (Kailyn Brown/View) @KailynHype
The exterior of the newest Children's Dentistry location at 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6. (Kailyn Brown/View) @KailynHype
A photo of an operating room at Children's Dentistry, 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6. (Kailyn Brown/View) @KailynHype
Photos are displayed on the walls on Dec. 12, 2017 at Children's Dentistry, 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6. (Kailyn Brown/View) @KailynHype
Children's Dentistry employees, from left, Lamarious Nichols, Elizabeth Castillo and Lynn Campos working at the front desk on Dec. 12, 2017 at 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 6. (Kailyn Brown/View) @KailynHype
Shanti Coleman leads her son Kalanie out of an exam room at Children’s Dentistry on July 22. Dr. Steven Delisle, who owns Children’s Dentistry, began a program that offers scholarships help special-needs patients get work done. (Children’s Dentistry)
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By Kailyn Brown / View
December 18, 2017 - 2:41 pm
 

Steven DeLisle recalls seeing how difficult it was for his aunt, who had cerebral palsy, to receive dental care. So when he opened his first dental practice, in 2009, he kept special-needs patients like her in mind.

The dentist anesthesiologist attended the University of Washington and completed a residency at Loma Linda University, where he focused on treating patients with special needs and children with dental anxiety. Six months after completing the residency, he moved to Las Vegas and started what was known as Las Vegas Special Needs Dentistry, where he exclusively treated special-needs patients.

At the time, not many Las Vegas dentists knew how to treat special-needs patients, who often need to be put under anesthesia, DeLisle said.

“I liked being able to be the provider or doctor who could treat the patients who normally can’t be seen or sit through a normal appointment,” the Summerlin resident said. “(Prior to this), their only option was to go to the hospital to get treated. There was a large population that wasn’t being treated; (instead) they were being bounced from office to office without any comprehensive dental care.”

Children’s Dentistry also offers scholarships via a program known as Saving Smiles for special-needs patients who are 21 or older. DeLisle has awarded about 10 scholarships, and he hopes to provide more, he said.

After a year, DeLisle changed the name of Las Vegas Special Needs Dentistry to Children’s Dentistry because he wanted to include children. He now has 10 locations, including two in North Las Vegas and a dental clinic at Child Haven, where he treats special-needs clients, children and adult patients. Services include composite fillings, crowns and orthodontic treatment.

DeLisle’s newest office, in North Las Vegas at 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite G, opened Dec. 9. It received about 25 patients on its first day, dental assistant Lamarious Nichols said.

Contact Kailyn Brown at kbrown@viewnews.com or 702-387-5233. Follow @kailynhype on Twitter.

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