Smilie's Pediatric Dentistry

"Dr.LaDau and his staff are wonderful. My daughter had special needs they were very understanding. She needed to get dental work done she had to go to the hospital to get it done. It was a year in the making but as soon as got LaDau got the privilege to work I. The hospital he got her in fast and and did all the work that needed to be done he even called me personally to check on her. I would highly recommend this dentist and his staff for your child or children."

"My daughter had her very first visit to a dentist about a week ago. The whole staff was amazing! I came across them while looking for a dentist with immediate openings when my child was in pain. They went above and beyond , even offered a list of places that may be able to help if they couldn’t. They put me on the cancellation call list and had her scheduled in a couple of days. I appreciate the empathy of the office staff during my time of need and the extent Dr. LaDue goes to make sure everyone is comfortable and understands what is going on. I read the reviews after scheduling and was so nervous. I thought she would leave with silver teeth lol . She was cavity free! This the place for my children!"

"My kids love going to the dentist thanks to everyone in the office! they are so good and explain everything so well to the kids! We love them."

"I am posting under my husband’s account but several years ago I was a single mother of a toddler. We went to Smilie’s for a few cleanings and check ups. Initially he was put under watch for a spot on his tooth that might have looked like it was progressing towards a cavity. My son was nursed and very rarely took a bottle. We brushed his teeth every single day. When trying to get x-rays at a regular checkup (we never missed an appt), my son showed some resistance due to being afraid. The dentist told me he doesn’t play those games and if I wanted x-rays then my son needed to be medicated. He gave my son some sort of loopy medicine that made him giggly where he couldn’t stand up. He was like a drunk little toddler. I waited so long in the waiting room, the medicine was almost completely wore off and he was standing and talking again by the time we got the x-rays and he did just fine. During checkup, I was suddenly told that he had severe dental carries and needed 8 silver crowns. I asked about fillings or white crowns. My son always had the most beautiful smile and teeth and disrupting his smile broke my heart along with the thought of him being teased one day for all the metal crowns. The dentist asked me if I cared more about my son’s appearance or his health. Upon my hesitation, he told me I could do what he wanted or go somewhere else. When checking out, they gave me a huge packet of paperwork and scheduled an appt for my son to be put under anesthesia to have his extensive dental work. I felt sick. I wanted to cry, and felt like a horrible Mom. I then started calling around and got 3 additional opinions! 2 were family dentists and 1 was the pediatric dentist across the street from Smilies. All of them told me my son had 2 cavities next to each other between his teeth but they could be easily filled due to their size. We got the fillings done and have had zero issues since. My son is now 7 1/2 and we faithfully go to Valleau, VanDeven and Massie Dentistry for Children. I’ve only ever experienced great customer service, patience and kindness for my son and myself. I have debated for years making a complaint to the American Dental Association due to Smilie’s fraudulent and unethical practices. But honestly it weighed so heavily on my heart with the emotions they cause me that I couldn’t even muster up the energy to file the complaint (yet). I’ve saved my son’s x-rays. I have proof of their horrible treatment to children. It breaks my heart to read stories of this happening to other families who possibly could have avoided all of this if they had just known to get a second opinion."

"I scheduled an appointment for my son in July. The first appointment available was in November. My son had an abecess from a previous filling and our family dentist referred us to Dr LaDue. We waited out the 4 months and went in, not knowing this was just a consultation. I spent a good 30 minutes entering information on their website prior to the appointment. Upon arrival to the office, I was informed that the forms did not save and I would need to complete them again before the dentist would see my son. I did like that Dr LaDue came into the waiting room and chatted with us before taking us back for the exam. I appreciated the way that he included my son in the discussion and the general way the appointment was going. He took X-rays and then told me that my son needed 7 (yes, SEVEN) crowns on baby teeth. He also wanted to pull 2 additional teeth. So, here I am, thinking we are coming in to have an abscess fixed and then finding out that we needed 7 crowns and 2 teeth pulled. I was a little overwhelmed, not only at the procedure itself, but that we also were instructed to have my son admitted to the hospital and put under. I wasn't given any other option, no fillings were discussed because Dr LaDue said the cavities were on 'multiple sides of all of the teeth.' Upon leaving, I went home and was discussing with my husband about the $3000 plus we were going to be spending on baby teeth. We decided that I would call and ask Dr LaDue if there were some teeth that we could crown and some that we could just do fillings on. My call was never returned. After the holidays, I called a different pediatric dentist office in Grandville and was plesantly surprised to hear that our first appointment was going to be the next week. We proceeded to the new dentist only to find out that our son needed 3 fillings and 1 tooth pulled (this is the one with the original abscess). NO CROWNS, NOT A ONE. Like I said, Dr LaDue is very nice and his manner with the kids is amazing. I just would recommend a second opinion before going thru with any amount of crowns, or admitting your child to the hospital."