Omg I finally found a pediatric dentist that takes my insurance and actually likes kids!!! Today both of my girls (6 and 2yrs old) came in to see Dr. Stern. They absolutely loved him and his staff. Of course, they loved the office too! As soon as they came in, they as well as I, were in awe to see everything so clean and colorful. Not to mention Toy Story playing on the tv. Too bad the staff couldn't see their excitement because the girls were wearing masks. Receptionist was so friendly took my girls temperature as soon as we came in following COVID-19 safety procedures. When we went into the room. I noticed all the rooms had a theme. Very kid friendly!! My oldest was at ease when she saw frozen 2 playing in the room. Dr. Stern was so friendly and explained everything he was doing before apply to the girls mouth. When he leaned the chair back he told them not to worry to just look up. When they looked up there was a tv mirroring the movie! He had a tv on THE CEILING! He even managed to clean and apply fluoride on my 2 year old. I thought she wouldn't let him do anything, let alone open her mouth for him. As an ECE teacher I appreciate the amount of details he put into his office and takes into actual consideration the little people in his office. I can not rave enough about this office and staff. Thank you shining Smiles for such a great experience for my girls and I!!! read more

We had a horrible experience at this dentist. I've never visited a pediatric specialist that has so little interest in working with children who are nervous or need a little more guidance. Don't bring your children here unless they will be 100% compliant and quiet at all times. This practice was recommended by our pediatrician because my son has special needs. I took both him and my daughter (Shining Smiles recommended both children come at the same time). My daughter is almost 7 and last year when she was at this practice she was afraid to do x-rays and they quickly gave up. They suggested we should do them the following year, which we agreed to. Today, we had prepared our daughter in advance and even had a plan to reward her after she successfully completed the x-rays. Despite this, our daughter was nervous and immediately resistant to the x-rays. The hygienist was quickly condescending, didn't try to work with our daughter, and didn't trust us that we could work with our daughter to get her to complete the x-rays. While this was happening our 4-year old son wanted to leave the exam room and went into the waiting room with my husband. Our son was yelling that he wanted to leave, nothing overly disruptive, and not unexpected for a 4-year old who was being asked to watch his sister get a dental exam. We were able to settle everyone and my daughter was getting more comfortable with the idea of x-rays and my son was finishing his cleaning. The dentist came in abruptly and said to us that he heard our son in the waiting room and because our daughter wasn't being cooperative they would both need to go to a hospital and be sedated to get any kind of dental treatment. It was so rude and while I understand that might be needed for my son with special needs, I would not expect that for my daughter, especially after they barely tried to work with her or explain what she was supposed to do during the X-ray. The dentist looked in my son's mouth for an extremely short period of time, and said he might see a cavity but wouldn't try to look again to let me know for sure, and said we'd have to go to the hospital, again to do the exam under sedation. It was clear that they just didn't want to deal with either of them. There was zero bedside manner or any kind of knowledge about how to speak to children (with special needs or not). Their website says the dentist got a special certification to work with special needs kids and that they use gentle sedation techniques and laughing gas. When I asked about those options instead of going to a hospital he was dismissive. We will obviously never be going back to this place. read more

Terrible customer service and zero empathy for families. My child got sick unexpectedly, so I couldn't cancel early. Now the dental clinic won't let us schedule an appointment ahead of time. They blocked us from pre-booking future appointments, forcing us to call for same day opening instead, even though this is our first cancellation this year. Unacceptable policy for a pediatric dental provider. read more

Please avoid. Total malpractice and negligence... Adamant my child had multiple cavities without doing X-rays which were later proven to be false (checked with X-rays at another dentist). read more

The entire staff is friendly and kind. We were at another dentist before and my 2 kids are very sensitive and the previous office could not treat them. Shining Smiles was so good with them and my kids did great. Highly recommend this place. read more

Why be a pediatric doctor if you're unwilling to fix children's cavities in house and perform an adequate quality of care? Quit lying that you like working with children. read more

They called me because I refused to sign a blanket consent form last time I was there. (I didn't not want my 2 year old to have anesthesia or oral surgery.) Michele from the office threaten to canceled our appointment for today if we didn't sign a new consent form. I declined to sign fir services I did not want. I asked them why I had to consent to services I didn't want me kids to have, and she said it's "office policy". Then she went on to say they don't even do those services, but we need to consent to them in case they refer us to another specialist. Probably to make sure they get the referral fee. It's all about money at this place. When we were there last they harassed me about getting "routine X-rays", I declined. They kept pushing. There was no medical/dental need for X-rays, they said not to worry, it was covered by insurance. They have no respect for religious beliefs or parental choice. Go elsewhere, trust me. read more

We have been going to Dr Stern for years. He has always had sound advice for the kids and the practice fees are reasonable. The administrators at the front desk are helpful coordinating with Insurance. They also make scheduling easy. All the hygienists have been kind and gentle. Easy + reasonable + great quality = happy parent! read more

Initially I liked this Dentist however he would not fill cavities on my child saying he was too fidgety. He referred us to a children's hospital that could not accommodate us in many months. We called Shining Smiles back for advice and they did not return our calls. Not very nice to wipe your hands of a patient like that. You can't really call yourself a pediatric dentist if you can't handle scared kids. We are not alone here, we have friends that have had the same dilemma here. I would definitely look elsewhere for a pediatric dentist. read more

Terrible Dentist who only cares about $$$. Even if your kid doesn't need an X-ray, Dr.Stern will insist you NEED one in order for him to even see your child. Child has no complaint about any dental issues YET a tooth decay on a 5 year old baby's teeth is still "protocol" for yearly xrays. I bet if they didn't get paid $$$$ for xrays and prior auth was required, I can bet it would suddenly be not protocol practice for this pediatric dental office. Only sound advice Dr stern gave was, "you should get a second opinion!" read more

This place is amazing! The staff and the Dr. Stern are truly a pleasure. The entire office is truly designed for kids which is awesome! The place is conveniently located right next to North Shore Manhasset Hospital on Community Drive. There is plenty of parking and they take most insurances. Kids get a token at the end of their visit for a cool prizes. Did I mention how clean this place is? I'm a clean freak and waiting here was my happy place. Wait time is awesome, literally didn't wait at all as they waited for me to finish the paperwork. The hygienist was super informative and gave me all the tips I needed and I also learned some new things!!! Really love this place and look forward to bringing my toddler here in the years to come! read more

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Dr. Rod lacks empathy and care for his little patients. His office staff is rude and he doesn't stand by his patients. He was planning to charge me $400 for simple took work that my child's current dentist will charge $200. He only cares for money. read more

! Just wanted to share my experience with shining smiles pediatric dentistry, took my 11 year old for a cleaning last week and the dentist there told me he has two cavities and needs to get fillings( he's never had a cavity before ) and this morning my hubby took him to his dentist to confirm because we both had a feeling it wasn't true. Anyways, xray and dentist examinations from today show there are no cavities at all. Also took him to his orthodontist today for braces and my doc also confirmed that there are no cavities So just beware! He's a liar and has probably done this many times before read more

DO NOT GO TO THIS DENTIST! Dr. Stern has terrible bedside manner. He has no patience, no interest in explaining or even examining the patient and spends under 5 minutes in the exam room. He was more concerned with spitting out billing codes to his assistant which totaled almost $1,000. He is a CROOK! Only interested in billing your insurance company. My daughter left his office in tears! Worst Dental Experience Ever! Went for 2nd opinion and found out Dr.Stern completely misdiagnosed her saying she had an infection when she absolutely did not! He also stated she had 12 cavities which was completely inaccurate because she has only 4. Honestly, I have never met such an arrogant and inexperienced DR working with kids. It's very sad and I truly hope nobody goes to this office ever again. read more

This rating is not for general visit. Instead, it's for Pediatration procedure that performed by Dr. Rod. Dr. Rod suggested a root canal for my 4 years old daughter. He performed the procedure in the office and placed a silver cap on the root of that tooth. Few days later, the silver crown came off with half of the tooth attached on the crown. We figured, he did not do a good job on that tooth and luckily my daughter did not swallow it. We contacted the office and saw him again, he could not give us any reason why it happened. My daughter was eating soft noodle soup after the procedure and the cap did not even last a week. Very disappointed. Also, during the visit, he took the silver crown which attached the broken tooth back, kept it and did not give it back to me. I now think, he was afraid me suing him for malpractice. If he suggested you any procedure for your little one, please consult another dentist or an adult dentist to see if it's necessary in a long run. I feel like Dr. Rod is very young, must be graduated few years ago and might over sale some unnecessary procedures to patients. Overall, the place is clean, the doctor and staffs are very friendly and nice. read more

" My child needs urgent dental work and Dr. Rod Stern refused treatment " This is the worse place to take your kids. This place are racist especially if you are Hispanic. This office and Dr. Rod Stern doesn't support their patient's needs even if you have an appointment. Yesterday my son was refused treatment care because we asked the Dr. about why he doesn't responded to our emergency call, he was so rude and immediately said in front of my son .. that we have to take him with another different doctor if we complain too much about it . We wait 2 days to see him and easily he said " take your son with another better doctor or a emergency room " he doesn't care about the COVID time.. all this in front of my son , my son was crying so much and my child needed urgent dental work and Dr. Rod Stern refused treatment. He needs medical ethics training , patient care education and be more gentle with the kids when he talk in front of them. His office staff refused to let me talked with him 1 day before when we called and he didn't take the phone . His staff said " he said take your son to ER " I asked my son's pediatric and she said is not necessary to take to ER just he needs to see his dentist pediatric just to be sure if the teeth r ok. Especially because of the COVID the last place to take him is an Emergency Room.. Parents I will urge you to think twice before choosing this office. Again more if you are Hispanic , and be sure he removed the cavities , he only take 3 min to removed , and if you go with another dentist the cavities it will be still there . All of this make us feel disappointed and frustrated because He don't care , that we traveled more than 45 min to see him because we live so far from his dentist office , it was a emergency check , we wait 2 days to see him , we wasted our time and we ask for 1 day off in our job. And the most important part my son didn't received the emergency care, and he felt disappointed about how the doctor decided not accepted him. read more

Dr. Rod and his assistant Brenda was so kind and awesome with so much patience for kids! They took the time to explained everything and I didn't even have to ask much questions. Absolutely love Michelle, front desk reception! Thank you all for making it a smooth visit for my son and I. read more

Don't go to this place. They charge you ridiculous amount of money for laughing gas ($150)and other services. Other offices barely charge anything. I didn't know this information til much later. I made a late appointment to have my child's tooth extracted, when I got there I was told it was a cleaning appointment. I specifically told the front desk several time it was for extracting a tooth. After I got there I had to stand firm with the main Dentist to get her teeth out. I'm not making 2 appointments so you can bill my insurance multiple times. I found out from multiple people that this is covered by insurance and they're just robbing us. I called the office to transfer my records and how it's not right they're charging this much money. The secretary was so rude and was dismissive to everything I said to her. I never write a review but as a parent I thought it was important to inform others. If I had to retrieve each teeth for each of my kids, I would be paying thousands! Not fair when you're insurance covers it but these people take it out of pocket. read more

First the positives: Front desk reception is amazing- helpful, friendly, and understanding Clean, new looking facilities TV with Disney programming in the treatment room Appear to be taking appropriate and thorough covid precautions Negatives: The hygienist seemed nice enough, but she went out of her way to say its normal for the toddler to cry and be upset. That may be true that it's normal, but as a parent it would be much more comforting (and, in my opinion, indicative of skill with very young children) to hear all the techniques you will use to comfort the child and avoid as much upset as possible. We did not actually wind up having her do any work on my son so I can't speak to her actual skill at balancing necessary procedures with skill at calming scared children. Also, I was frustrated with the dentist himself. My child has a heart condition that apparently dentists need clearance before working with. He wanted a letter from my son's cardiologist before he would do a routine cleaning. That's fine and I understand wanting to ensure safety for patients as well as, just practically speaking, reducing provider liability. However, apparently this is such a common thing that my son's cardiologist has a preform letter to simply check off boxes clearing for dentist procedures. When I politely expressed my frustration to the dentist that I was allowed to come all the way down to the office without any knowledge that my child would need clearance, he argued with me instead of acknowledging that maybe office policies could be adjusted. For example, it would not be super difficult to have reception inform any new patients that if they have a cardiologist in their life, a clearance letter may be necessary so if they want to just go ahead and get/bring that might be helpful. In fact, on the intake paperwork the practice posts online theres a little box with some various diseases/issues listed. I imagine any of them might cue up the provider to require a clearance for procedures. Same feedback could apply more generally. In any case, because he argued with me instead of considering ways in which his policies and procedures might be improved so as not to inconvenience patients, I will not be returning with my child. read more

I wish I could give this business zero stars. I booked appointments for my kids based off of the Google reviews, which I later found out can be edited and added to by the business itself, so very misleading. Initially everything was great, the staff were all very welcoming and kind. On our second visit, Dr. Rod says both my kids, ages 3 and 6, have multiple cavities. They never complain of mouth pain but fine. He doesn't show me where the cavities are located in the xrays on their mouths, just rushes me out to book the appointment to come back. The receptionist says I'll need to come back for two appointments to fill three small cavities. I ask why I need two appointments at $100 each for the laughing gas, she doesn't know. I had a feeling he wasn't telling the truth. Made an appointment at a new dentist, lo and behold zero cavities on either of them and PRAISE for having very clean teeth. I don't like feeling like a schmuck and I sure did after visiting this office and trusting this crook with my kids' health. read more

This is the pediatric dentist my children will be using going forward!!! Wow!!!! Excellent, knowledge, kind, gentle, sweet doctor, that has amazing bed side manners. His office is so kid friendly, clean, up to date, and his staff is extremely courteous and helpful. You will love this office. read more

Dr.Rod doesn't even deserve a one star rating. I will start off by saying this, initially my husband and I were very happy with him and his staff until we needed a referral for my daughter to see an oral surgeon. He refused, no exceptions, no valid reason as to why just refused. I was told by his receptionist Michelle that he didn't feel our need for the referral was necessary. My daughter has a speech delay and her speech therapist along with another oral surgeon, which by the way I paid out of pocket for her to see because he wouldn't budge and write a referral, have all agreed that she needs a franectomy because she does not have full range of motion in her mouth which is causing her to speak mostly from one side. I have spoke to our insurance company many times and they as well don't understand why Dr.Rod will not write the referral for my daughter to see an oral surgeon that is in network with our insurance. In order for my daughter to get this procedure done we need to obtain a referral from her pediatric dentist, which once received they can generate a referral on there behalf so then my daughter can see the oral surgeon for a consultation to get this procedure done. I've explained this many times to Dr.Rod's receptionist in which she understands but has to abide by whatever Dr.Rod says. At this point, even our insurance are beside themselves of not understanding why he can't just simply write the referral so my daughter can get this procedure done. We will now be filing a grievance with our insurance company in regards to what Dr.Rod has done. No one can understand why he is doing this. As per the oral surgeon instructions (the one I paid out of pocket to see), I was told to have my daughters pediatric dentist check the tie above her lip inhibiting her speech along with the one tooth that was greying out do to some trauma from a recent incident at her school. I made an appointment right away with Dr.Rod and he totally brushed me off when I mentioned the tie above her lip "I don't really deal with that" and went on to examine her tooth that was greying out. Our pediatrician wrote a referral and they have nothing to even do with this but Dr.Rod won't. Unbelievable. Our pediatrician wrote the referral no questions asked. Per our insurance protocol we still have to obtain a referral from our dentist. I have been in limbo with Dr.Rod for three months of him telling me no my daughter's pediatrician needs to write the referral etc. unacceptable! and he has no right to make any determinations on what my daughter needs. Put yourself in our shoes Dr.Rod if this was your child and this was recommended you would do anything your child needs no questions asked. You are extremely unprofessional and you have your receptionists handling all of your dirty work. Your the problem and you should be informing the patients directly. It goes to show the type of person you are. I highly recommend anyone looking into this office to RUN! It's clearly all about money here and not about a patients well being. I do not appreciate you making a determination about what my daughter "needs" when you refused to even look at the tie above her lip. I've been on the phone for three months with your office and our insurance company all because you don't think what my daughter needs is necessary!!! Unprofessional and extremely rude. You shouldn't even be allowed to practice. Before even making an appointment with your office I read all of the reviews below and I should of trusted my intuition and RAN!!! Just like everyone else because your office should be out of business. I gave you a chance, and clearly I shouldn't of considered coming to your practice because you truly DO NOT CARE!! read more

Clean and well decorated office, friendly staff. Went to Dr Rod for a second opinion. X rays were taken in a breeze and the doctor didn't rush through; he spent his time answering our questions. Kids loved the toy prizes they got from Dr Rod read more

complete waste of my time. The doctor was not able to help and just refer my child to other doctors. We went to kidzsmiles before and they were so good but came here after my insurance changed and they did nothing. read more

I cannot say enough about this place. Clean, friendly staff, dentist is very attentive. Playful waiting room. Olenka, the dentist's assistant was very patient with my children. Dr. Stern sang this ABC song while counting my kids teeth and made them feel comfortable. I highly recommend this place. I wish I found this place sooner. read more

The hygienist and front desk staff was very friendly and helpful. If you just need a cleaning then this place is fine. If your child has a cavity then do not bother. My daughter was timid and scared at our last visit going out with a mask for the first time to a doctor's office in the world of covid. My baby had to come too and of course was crying. The hygienist asked my 4 year old daughter if she wanted to sit on my lap. OFCOURSE is she going to say yes. Her previous visits this was never needed. Dr Rod Stern came in, didn't put one tool in her mouth and suddenly declared she had 2 cavities and needed to be sedated at the hospital. The hygienist never mentioned any signs and kept saying "Great job, looks good" the whole cleaning. I said no I don't want that and he said fine come back in 6 months. After 4 months I could now see she had a cavity. I called and his emergency line still has not been updated from last March and says they are closed due to Covid. When the office opened and I got someone there they said Dr Rod Stern refused to see my daughter and she needed to go to the hospital. Though she is now a bit older he would not even see her. Today we went to a new dentist who was shocked! They said she only had 1 cavity, the hospital would not have even seen us for just one and that she was a calm pleasure to treat and never cried!! I would never recommend this dentist. He is just there to pump through cleanings and not to actually help children! read more

They referred us to an oral surgeon where they don't take kids under 5. A little unprofessional.