A pediatric dentist for Antelope families

Choosing your route from Antelope

Antelope families have three main ways to reach Roseville, and the best one depends on where in Antelope you live. Most trips take about 20 to 30 minutes.

• Antelope Rd heads east, toward Citrus Heights and the I-80 corridor.
• Walerga Rd runs north toward Roseville.
• Watt Ave is another north–south option that may suit homes on the west side.

Center Joint, Dry Creek, and the school dental check

Depending on your address, your child may attend Center Joint Unified School District, which runs from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade, or Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District, which serves parts of Antelope. Dry Creek is based in Roseville, teaches kindergarten through eighth grade, and feeds into Roseville Joint Union High School District schools.

Whichever district you're in, California's Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment works the same way:

• Who needs it: every child in their first year of public school, which could be TK, kindergarten, or first grade.
• When it's due: May 31 of that first year.
• Who can do it: a licensed dental professional, no more than 12 months before your child enrolls.
• TK screenings carry over: since 2025, one done in TK also counts for kindergarten.
• If you can't get one: ask the school for a waiver form.

Bring the school's form to your child's checkup and cleaning, and we'll complete it there. That visit is also a good moment to look ahead to sealants, because the first permanent molars show up around age 6.

Sealants at 6, and again at 12

School-age kids get two sets of permanent molars, and both are prime spots for cavities. Their deep grooves trap food, and toothbrush bristles can't always reach the bottom.

The CDC reports that sealants prevent about 80% of cavities in back teeth for two years, and continue protecting against about half of cavities for up to four years. Children ages 6 to 11 without sealants have almost three times as many first-molar cavities as kids who have them.

Placing a sealant takes a few minutes per tooth, with no shots or drilling. Learn more about dental sealants for kids. If you've read about BPA, our guide Are dental sealants safe? explains what the ADA says: any trace exposure is very low and gone within hours.

Fluoride for Antelope kids: start with your water bill

Rather than guess what's in your tap, look at your water bill, which names your provider. That provider's annual water quality report lists the fluoride level. Once you know, we can tailor your child's plan:

• Lower fluoride at the tap, or mostly bottled or filtered water, may mean professional fluoride varnish is especially helpful. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends it every 3 to 6 months for kids at risk of cavities.
• Fluoride toothpaste matters at every age. Kids 3 to 6 need a pea-sized amount, and younger children just a smear.
• Supplements are rarely needed, and we'd only consider them after reviewing your water source.

Help for nervous or anxious kids

Plenty of children feel uneasy about the dentist, especially after a hard experience somewhere else. We take things at your child's pace.

• Tell-show-do. We explain each step in kid-friendly words and show the tool before we use it.
• You can stay close. Parents are welcome chairside for the whole visit.
• Something to look forward to. Every visit ends with a stop at the treasure chest.
• Sedation options. For some children, laughing gas (nitrous oxide) helps. Your child stays awake, it works within minutes, and it wears off a few minutes after breathing regular oxygen. See sedation and laughing gas for kids.

For ideas you can try at home before the visit, read how to help a child who's afraid of the dentist.

Medi-Cal dental coverage for Antelope families

Antelope is in Sacramento County, which handles Medi-Cal dental benefits differently from most of California. Here, children with Medi-Cal are generally placed in a Dental Managed Care plan, with only a few exceptions, and they need to see a dentist within that plan's network.

So before scheduling with us or anyone else, call your plan and ask whether that dentist is in network. If you have a PPO plan instead, we're in-network with most PPO plans and will check your benefits before treatment. Families in other nearby towns can find their page under areas we serve.