Rhode Island

Pediatric Dentistry in Rhode Island

The Advanced Specialty Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry was a celebrated addition to St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island. The partnership with Lutheran Medical Center established the first dental residency in the state. St. Joseph Health Services provides health care in Providence and throughout the state. The Service includes St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care , Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, and a network of psychiatric, geriatric, rehabilitation and outpatient centers. Committed to its mission to preserve, restore, and enhance the health of individuals and families, St. Joseph prides itself on its record of patient satisfaction and outcomes of care. The service, licensed for 386 beds, has more than 400 medical and dental staff, and treats almost 250,000 patients per year.

The Saint Joseph Hospital Pediatric Dental Center opened in 1995 and, since its inception, has continued to expand. It serves as a center of excellence receiving statewide referrals from dentists and pediatricians. It offers comprehensive care to children from birth to 19 years of age and educational, preventive, and outreach services in ten Providence and six Pawtucket public elementary schools. The program includes training in conscious sedation, full mouth oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia in the operating room, orthodontics, comprehensive restorative treatment, and rotations through Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

The Pediatric Dental Center and its satellite clinics have eleven operatories, ten staff dentists (including specialists in pediatric dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and orthodontics), nine dental hygienists, nine dental assistants, and four secretaries. The center is on target to treat over 12,000 patients a year. This site is available only to pediatric dental residents.

“It was not price nor money that could have purchased Rhode Island…Rhode Island was purchased by love.” Roger Williams

Founded on land purchased from friendly Narragansett Indians and on the principles of religious freedom and separation of church and state by Roger Williams in 1636, Providence was the first permanent white settlement in Rhode Island. Soon Anne Hutchinson, the first woman to establish a town in America, settled at Pocasset and William Coddington at Newport. By 1663, the communities united and King Charles II of England granted them a royal charter.

Rhode Island, graced with excellent harbors and over 400 miles of coastline, flourished and competed successfully with Massachusetts as a maritime center of trade with Charleston and the West Indies. The first colony to prohibit the importation of slaves despite its profits from the slave trade, Rhode Island was the first colony to take violent action against the British, and the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain. It was the last colony to ratify the U.S. Constitution, demanding the addition of the Bill of Rights, which guarantees individual liberties.

Today, “Little Rhody,” 48 miles north to south and 37 miles east to west, thrives on an economy built on health services, tourism, and manufacturing. It is just 60 miles from Boston, 180 miles from New York City, and under 350 miles from Montreal. It hosts 12 institutions of higher education including Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, University of Rhode Island, Providence College, and the U. S. Naval War College. Scores of 17th- and 18th-century historic sites, such as the oldest Jewish house of worship in America, draw visitors to the state. Saturated in history, our smallest state is home of the oldest Fourth of July Parade in the country. It also boasts a glorious coast dominated especially by the remarkable “cottages” of Newport and the lore of the America’s Cup yacht race. Irresistible seaside beaches, lakes, and other waterways abound for fishing, swimming, boating, water-skiing, and whale watching.