2022’s Best Dental Dog

The Dental Boutique’s resident therapy dog, Luna, came through happenstance. I adopted her as a six-month-old puppy in November 2014.  I had her at the office as part of house training, but in the process, we had a moment that sealed her position in patient comfort management.  One of Luna’s days in the office, a patient hovered by the entrance after pushing open the door.  Luna came around the corner to see her, and we heard a big sigh of relief. Our lovely visitor had not been to a dental appointment for over ten years, and in the previous three months had been to five practices, unable to get past the door. With Luna, she was able to fill out forms and have a full set of x-rays, an exam, and a cleaning. She said the only reason she could sit in the lounge was our puppy. At that point, I knew Luna was destined to be in the office daily. We’ve had combative adult patients, who previously needed to be restrained and medicated, able to undergo procedures with only Luna in their lap. She is an intuitive soul and an essential part of our practice. The reviews about her almost make me jealous, but if she can help people continue their oral health care more comfortably, I can be nothing more than proud of her. She has even been in the New York Times and on Inside Edition for her merits!

Zen has been a part of our pediatric dental practice for the past year and a half. He is a lively part of our team and loves all patients. Zen spends the day helping reduce everyone’s anxiety and stress, patients AND staff!  He loves to cuddle and he’s as sweet as they come. 

He’s usually got a full schedule and many patients will book appointments six months in advance, making sure they get a time and date that Zen will be present for.  Patients will also stop in randomly on days they don’t have appointments and surprise him with puppuccinos!

Meet Gary, our dental doodle, for the 2022 Best Dental Dog!  My husband and I have owned our dental practice for 12 years now. We finally caved to our children’s desire to get a puppy and were lucky enough to find Gary. Gary is a year and a half old Bernedoodle. We soon learned he had the sweetest, most relaxed disposition right from the start.  Because of this, I decided to try bringing him to work after some extensive dog training.  From the very start it was a huge success! Our patients adore cuddling Gary and he loves greeting the patients and staff all day long. Many of the patients bring him treats when they come to the office and only want to schedule appointments when Gary will be there! Gary will sit with patients while they get treatment or just stand by their chair so they can pet him for distraction. We started bringing Gary to work when he was a year old and due to his popularity, he is in the office three days a week. He has brought so much joy and happiness to the office!  We think he is the best dental dog there ever was!