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History of the practice.. In 1977 I graduated from UCIrvine with a BS in Biology. I then went to UCLA for a Master’s in Public Health. While at UCLA, I looked for a way to put health education and disease prevention into practice. I chose Dentistry because the disease (decay) has a known cause AND a known prevention. How Great!!! However, the prevention isn’t based on a shot, a procedure or a prescription. It depends on education, action and behavior.
While at Georgetown Dental School in DC, I took two months to work in the "Killing Field" refugee camps in Thailand and Cambodia. Many of my patients were orphaned children and I was astounded how wonderful these children were after experiencing such terrible mental and physical traumas in the Cambodian Slave Camps. Waiting to take my California boards in 1982, I spent time volunteering at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. While there, I was recruited for a 2-year hospital residency in Pediatric Dentistry. I spent my time at USC, CHLA and Rancho Los Amigos, learning the intricate dance of working with handicapped patients, trauma victims and all types of children. I graduated in 1985 with a great education, but I am still learning every day, mostly from the children and young adults I treat. I opened my doors in May, 1985.
Our Mission.. We want each child we meet to be disease free, and to understand how to keep their teeth healthy and intact as they travel through life.
How we Try to Do it.. We spend more time talking, teaching and educating than anything else we do. We involve the parent, as the primary care taker, discussing diet, supervised brushing and flossing, trauma prevention, and explaining the age-appropriate abilities and responsibilities of each child as they become involved in the care of their own teeth. Above all, we try hard to create a human relationship where the parent, the child and our office are all “pulling together on the same end of the rope”. We know that nothing we do in a dental office is really “nice”, but if we are nice about what we do, children are amazingly capable and successful. In our office we do very little drugging of children. Just like children do not need to be sedated for their medical vaccines, they can also be guided through short and reasonable dental procedures without the very real risk that sedation can entail.
Community.. Our office is committed to the communities we serve. It has been our pleasure to give financial support to almost all of the local schools, scout groups, YMCAs, Sherrifs,Search and Rescue teams, AYSO teams Walkathons, jog-a-thons and we buy a lot of Girl Scout Cookies!!! Even more important in my mind, is the time we give. I teach at USC Medical School and White Memorial Hospital. We host pre-school tours in our office. I speak to parent groups and Medical groups of all types. I served as president of a Pediatric Medical Society. Of course, a lot of it is fun! I was the Nation Chief of local YMCA for 2 years. I assissted with Boy Scout Troops and sat on Eagle Boards. In 2008 I was honored to join members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team to climb Mt. Hood to raise money for cancer research. I was moved to tears by the generosity of my patients, who contributed over $9000.00 in my name.
Of course, We do have the greatest patients in the world.
Awards..Professionals like to give each other a lot of plaques, and of course I have my share. You can come and see them if you are so inclined! I most enjoy the ones for community service. The plaque I am most proud of is one in recognition of Humanitarian Service while at Georgetown. However, the awards I treasure most are the letters and small gifts that my young patients send to me. These are as important to me as an Oscar might be to a famous actor. Recently a family brought me an electric guitar signed by each of the five children. That is about as fabulous as any trophy or honor could ever be!
A final word.. Children’s Dentistry is more about Children than it is about Dentistry. Often, a child will come through a difficult and painful procedure with a smile and finish by giving me a hug. The next child might walk in for a simple exam and have a screaming meltdown. We know that kids are kids. We know that they have bad days, just like adults. We know that everything is not always as we would wish it to be. Sometimes we just have to try another day, another way. Given time and patience, we always find a way to make it happen, and when that child finally does succeed, it is a greater deed, a greater triumph and a greater gift than all the perfect visits in the world!
Call Dr. Keith Serxner today at 818-790-1160, or browse our website for more information regarding our dental services. If you have any other questions or comments, please e-mail us.
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