Smile wide: Pediatric dentist focuses on giving patients a good start

By Melissa Wagoner

Tim Richardson didn’t set out to be a dentist.
“I thought mouths were disgusting,” he laughed.

All of that changed when, as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, he took a friend’s advice and shadowed a dentist.“Seeing it from a dentist’s perspective totally changed my view,” he said.

Later, in the school of dentistry at the University of Washington, another job shadow, this time with a pediatric dentist, changed his course again.

“I get to goof off all day,” he explained.

This “goofing off” is part of what makes pediatric dentistry different.

“The vocab is different. We use more fun terms. No four letter words are allowed in our office; hurt, shot, pull,” Richardson said. “And I don’t wear a white coat.”

Richardson, 36, and his wife Celeste fell in love with Silverton while hiking nearby.

“Every year after that we just kept coming back. We said, ‘Man this is a great little town. It’d be nice to live here.’”

Four years ago they were able to make that dream a reality and Silverton became their home.

Richardson, who until recently has had practices in Eugene, Newberg and Forest Grove, continued to commute to work. Now, he’s bringing everything together and opening an office on Water Street in downtown Silverton. Acorn Dentistry for Kids opened in March with a second location opening in Keizer this summer.

“I expect to grow out of this space in about three years or so. Maybe sooner as it is looking with the schedule,” he said.

Acorn Dentistry for Kids is open to all ages of kids initially, He suggests that parents bring their children in for the first exam prior to the first birthday.

“That’s mostly to make sure parents have all the education they need,” he said. “It’s a quick exam in the parent’s lap.”

Richardson explained that the job of a pediatric dentist goes beyond fillings and is more about making sure each child has a great experience.

“Over 50 percent of adult phobia is related to childhood experience at the dentist,” he said. “I think, without fail, if the parent will bring the child regularly, even if they have difficult treatment that is needed, they will not suffer from fears as they get older.”