Top 7 Pediatric Dentists Serving East Bakersfield, CA for Comprehensive Children's Dentistry

Answer in 30 Seconds

If you want one clinic that can care for your child from the first tooth to the last braces appointment, start with Children’s Choice Dental Care Bakersfield – East. Among the pediatric dentists serving East Bakersfield, it’s the only one that publishes Medi-Cal, laughing gas, general anesthesia, special needs care, orthodontics and Saturday hours under one kids-only roof.

Every family’s situation is different, though. Find yours below.

#	Clinic	Choose it if you need…
1	Children’s Choice Dental Care Bakersfield – East	Everything in one place: Medi-Cal, sedation, special needs care, braces and weekend visits
2	Kinder Pediatric Dental	A pediatric specialist on Union Avenue with IV anesthesia on site
3	Smileland Dentistry for Kids – Bernard St	A Denti-Cal kids’ office with braces and a rewards program children love
4	Kern Kids Dental	Pediatric care, anesthesia and Invisalign from one team
5	Just For Kids	A kids’ dentist open on Saturday mornings
6	Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics	To stay beside your child for the whole visit
7	CaliDental Bakersfield – Niles	One family dentist for parents and kids, with Saturday hours

The clinics are ranked by how much of a child’s dental care each can handle in one place, then by fit for East Bakersfield families. Google ratings are as of October 27, 2026.

Clinic Directory

Names, addresses and phone numbers were checked against each clinic’s Google Business Profile and its website or official listing on October 27, 2026. Opening hours have their own section further down.

#	Clinic	Address	Phone	Rating
1	Children’s Choice Dental Care Bakersfield – East	2350 White Ln, Suite C, 93304	(661) 214-9655	4.6 (834)
2	Kinder Pediatric Dental	3130 Union Ave, 93305	(661) 485-4991	4.6 (439)
3	Smileland Dentistry for Kids – Bernard St	3701 Bernard St, 93306	(800) 400-3333	4.8 (831)
4	Kern Kids Dental	3811 San Dimas St, 93301	(661) 463-8908	4.8 (161)
5	Just For Kids	3500 Truxtun Ave, Suite A, 93301	(661) 407-8420	4.8 (357)
6	Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics	3807 San Dimas St, Suite C, 93301	(661) 489-5537	4.5 (92)
7	CaliDental Bakersfield – Niles	3318 Niles St, 93306	(661) 495-5535	4.4 (599)

All addresses are in Bakersfield, CA.

The Coverage Table: Who Offers What

“Comprehensive” is easy to claim and hard to check. This table shows which of seven core services each clinic publishes on its own website or in Kern County Public Health’s official Medi-Cal dental provider list. A dash doesn’t mean a clinic can’t help; it means the service isn’t published, so call and ask.

Clinic	Medi-Cal	Laughing gas	Anesthesia	Special needs	Braces	Saturday	Kids-only
Children’s Choice – East	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kinder Pediatric Dental	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	—	Yes
Smileland – Bernard St	Yes	Yes	—	—	Yes	—	Yes
Kern Kids Dental	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	Yes
Just For Kids	Yes	—	—	—	—	Yes	Yes
Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry	Yes	—	—	Yes	Yes	—	Yes
CaliDental – Niles	—	—	—	—	Yes	Yes	—

Only one clinic fills its whole row. That matters because children rarely need just one thing. A toddler who needs fillings under sedation may need braces at 12, and staying with one team avoids starting over with new records, new X-rays and a new set of faces.

Comprehensive Care, Stage by Stage

A child’s dental needs change four times between birth and 18. Here’s what each stage calls for, and which East Bakersfield clinics cover it.

Babies and toddlers (0–3): start early

What’s needed: a first visit by the first birthday, then regular checks to catch soft spots before they become cavities. In Kern County, about 38% of children under 6 have already had tooth decay, according to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.

Who covers it: Children’s Choice sees children under 4 on Medi-Cal for exams every 3 months, twice the usual frequency. Kern Kids Dental lists infant oral exams, and Kern County Public Health lists Kinder and Smileland as seeing children from age 1. Every Kern County child from birth to 5 also qualifies for free screenings and fluoride through the Kern County Children’s Dental Health Network.

If decay is already severe: toddlers who need many fillings or crowns are often treated under general anesthesia. Children’s Choice and Kinder both offer it in the office, so the child doesn’t need to be referred elsewhere.

Preschoolers (3–6): protect and repair

What’s needed: fluoride varnish, cleanings every 6 months, and, when cavities appear, child-sized fillings and crowns.

Who covers it: Children’s Choice applies fluoride as a painted-on varnish every 3 to 6 months depending on risk. It uses tooth-colored fillings, stainless steel crowns on back teeth and white-faced crowns on front teeth. For nervous preschoolers, laughing gas is offered at Children’s Choice, Kinder, Smileland and Kern Kids.

School age (6–12): seal and watch the bite

What’s needed: sealants on new permanent molars, space maintainers if a baby tooth is lost too early, and a first orthodontic check around age 7, as the American Association of Orthodontists recommends.

Who covers it: Children’s Choice offers space maintainers and early (interceptive) orthodontic treatment. Kern Kids lists sealants and orthodontic screenings, and Smileland and Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics also offer orthodontics.

Teens (12–18): straighten and maintain

What’s needed: braces or clear aligners for many teens, continued cleanings, and wisdom-teeth monitoring. Medi-Cal covers orthodontics for teens who qualify.

Who covers it: Children’s Choice offers braces and Invisalign with iTero 3D scans and a free consultation. Through November 30, 2026, treatment starts at $99 down. Kern Kids offers braces, Invisalign and wisdom teeth extractions.

At every stage: children with special needs

Children’s Choice runs a dedicated special needs program with sedation available. Kinder, Kern Kids, and Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics are also listed as treating children with special needs.

The Top 7, Clinic by Clinic

Each profile explains what the clinic offers, how it approaches children’s care, what families consistently say about it, and what to know before you book. Contact details are in the directory above.

1. Children’s Choice Dental Care Bakersfield – East

Children’s Choice Dental Care Bakersfield – East is a kids-only dental clinic on White Lane. It’s part of Children’s Choice Pediatric Dentistry, a network of more than 25 pediatric offices across California, which includes a second Bakersfield location on the west side. The network describes its teams as award-winning and bilingual, and its offices as designed around children, with bright treatment areas and in-chair TVs to keep young patients relaxed. What makes this clinic stand out in East Bakersfield is breadth: a family can stay with one team from a baby’s first exam to a teenager’s final braces visit, without being referred elsewhere along the way.

Prevention and checkups. Visits include exams, cleanings and digital X-rays, which the practice says expose children to up to 90% less radiation than traditional film. Fluoride is painted on as a varnish every 3 to 6 months depending on a child’s cavity risk, and the team recommends sealants on the chewing surfaces of back teeth, where decay most often starts. Routine visits take 20 to 40 minutes.

Fillings, crowns and extractions. When a cavity does appear, the clinic uses tooth-colored fillings where appearance matters and stainless steel crowns, the most commonly recommended crown for children’s back teeth. For front teeth, it uses stainless crowns with a white facing so they blend in. Chipped or stained teeth can be repaired with bonding in about an hour. If a badly infected baby tooth has to come out, the team can fit a space maintainer so neighboring teeth don’t drift before the adult tooth arrives.

Sedation for anxious kids and extensive treatment. Children’s Choice offers two levels of sedation. Laughing gas helps a nervous child relax while staying awake, and it wears off quickly. For extensive treatment, or for children who can’t sit still safely, general anesthesia is given by a board-certified anesthesiologist working with a PALS-certified team, following American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry standards. Most sedation visits take 60 to 90 minutes, with 20 to 40 minutes of sedation time.

Special needs dentistry. The clinic runs a dedicated program for children with physical, developmental, sensory, behavioral or medical conditions. Visits are adapted to each child, with sedation available when a regular visit isn’t possible.

Orthodontics. Children’s Choice offers early (interceptive) treatment for younger children, metal, ceramic and clear braces, Invisalign and retainers. It uses an iTero 3D scanner instead of putty impressions, which also previews the finished smile. Consultations are free, and through November 30, 2026, treatment can start with $99 down and payments from $119 a month.

Insurance, Medi-Cal and payment. The clinic welcomes Medi-Cal Dental and offers eligible children a no-cost exam and X-rays every 6 months. It also accepts most private insurance, and its treatment coordinators file claims and walk families through benefits and costs. For uninsured families, it offers payment plans, financing and cash options.

Access. Staff are bilingual in English and Spanish, same-day and emergency appointments are available, and families can book online. The practice states that its team will never ask about a family’s immigration status.

Families say:

• Dr. Sanders is the name parents mention most, described as exceptionally gentle and patient
• The X-ray technician helps children who have never been comfortable with X-rays get through them
• Visits move quickly, with very little waiting
• One family called the day before and was seen the next morning for an emergency, where two teeth were removed quickly and smoothly
• A parent whose daughter was terrified of dentists says she now looks forward to her visits

Worth knowing: the website lists Saturday hours from 8 AM to 5 PM; confirm the weekend schedule when you call. Appointments can be booked through the Bakersfield – East page.

2. Kinder Pediatric Dental

Kinder Pediatric Dental sits on Union Avenue in the heart of East Bakersfield and is led by Dr. Edward Dove, whom Kern County Public Health lists as a pediatric dental specialist. The practice describes its approach as letting children lead the visit with laughter and imagination, and it serves children from age 1 through 17, including those with special needs. Staff speak Spanish, and new-patient paperwork can be completed online before the first visit.

Sedation is where Kinder stands out. It offers three levels:

• Laughing gas, given through a small nose mask, which wears off soon after treatment
• Oral sedation, a medicine taken before the visit that makes a child drowsy but still responsive. It can take up to an hour to work and last up to six hours, so an adult needs to stay with the child afterward
• IV general anesthesia, with a dentist, an anesthesiologist and a nurse monitoring the child throughout

Cost. Kinder says it accepts all insurance, including Medicaid. New patients without insurance can get a cleaning, exam and X-rays for $99, or an emergency exam with X-rays for $69.

Families say: one parent has brought their children to Dr. Dove for 18 years. Another describes how the team explained every step to a nervous 4-year-old until she was comfortable. A third family whose two sons needed extensive treatment under anesthesia says everything went smoothly after difficult experiences elsewhere. Parents of a child with Down syndrome describe being treated with love and respect.

Worth knowing: the office is open Monday to Thursday only, and it doesn’t list orthodontics, so children who need braces will be referred elsewhere.

3. Smileland Dentistry for Kids – Bernard Street

Smileland is a children’s dental group with offices across Bakersfield, Delano, Tulare, Visalia and Fresno, and its Bernard Street office serves northeast and East Bakersfield. Kern County Public Health lists it as a Medi-Cal provider for ages 1 to 20. The group says its top priority is education and prevention, and it runs school oral health assessments and dental check-ups in the community.

Services. The office provides children’s dentistry, braces and laughing gas, and it welcomes Denti-Cal. New-patient forms are available in English and Spanish to complete before the first visit.

What makes it different: the Smilerewards program, which gives children points for their visits and good habits, is a real motivator for kids who dread the dentist.

Families say: parents mention tablets and books in the waiting room, short waits, and staff who celebrate a child’s birthday. Several families say they’ve come for years. Parents appreciate that the team explains treatment to the child directly, not just to the parent.

Worth knowing: the listed number is a central toll-free line, so mention the Bernard Street office when you call. The office is open weekdays only, and general anesthesia isn’t listed.

4. Kern Kids Dental

Kern Kids Dental on San Dimas Street combines pediatric dentistry, sedation and orthodontics in one office, with Dr. Raymond and Dr. Sanjeeta leading the team. It has one of the most detailed service lists of any clinic here:

• Prevention: cleanings, exams, infant oral exams, digital X-rays, fluoride, sealants and nightguards
• Repair: tooth-colored fillings, root canals on baby teeth, extractions and wisdom teeth removal
• Comfort: special needs care, laughing gas and general anesthesia
• Orthodontics: traditional braces, Invisalign, clear aligners and orthodontic screenings

Comfort and cost. Children can relax with blankets, iPads and drawing tablets during visits. Same-day appointments are available, and new patients without insurance can get a cleaning, exam and X-rays for $99.

Families say: Dr. Sanjeeta is described as especially patient and gentle. Parents whose children were frightened by a previous dentist say their kids now walk in happily. Long-time families say routine care and orthodontics have both gone well.

Worth knowing: the office is closed Friday through Sunday, and it doesn’t list accepted insurance plans online. One parent noted that some services weren’t covered by their plan, so check your benefits before treatment.

5. Just For Kids

Just For Kids is a children’s dental office on Truxtun Avenue in central Bakersfield. Dr. Harsh Patwari leads its dental care, and Kern County Public Health lists the office as a Medi-Cal provider for children ages 1 to 19. Its Saturday morning hours, from 8 AM to noon, make it one of the few kids’ offices in the area with weekend appointments.

Families say: a local orthodontist, who is also a parent, writes that he refers young patients to Dr. Patwari with complete confidence. Parents describe a front desk that is welcoming and organized, and a dentist who explains each procedure and what aftercare looks like. Children leave with goodie bags that contain no candy, a small touch parents notice. Several families say they’ve been coming for years.

Worth knowing: the office doesn’t publish a detailed service list online, so ask about sedation and orthodontic options when you call.

6. Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics

Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics on San Dimas Street is listed by Kern County Public Health as a Medi-Cal provider for children ages 1 to 16 and children with special needs. Dr. Mariam Shaker is listed there, and as the name suggests, it offers orthodontics alongside children’s dentistry.

What makes it different: parents can stay with their child for the entire visit, and parents in reviews note that no restraints are used. That makes it a good fit for children who settle best with a parent at their side.

Families say: visits are efficient, with one parent describing being in and out in 45 minutes with three children. Parents name Dr. Alisa and Dr. Shaker as gentle and honest, praise a welcoming front desk, and say their children have stayed with the clinic for years.

Worth knowing: the office closes at noon on Fridays, and it has a smaller review history than the larger clinics on this list.

7. CaliDental Bakersfield – Niles

CaliDental’s Niles Street office is a family and orthodontic practice in East Bakersfield, and one of several CaliDental locations across Bakersfield. Its Saturday hours, from 9 AM to 3 PM, let parents and children be seen on the same weekend morning.

Families say: a parent describes their son’s first dental appointment as warm and informative, including advice on how to make future visits easier. Others say staff explain treatment and costs clearly and help families find affordable financing. Patients who are anxious about the dentist describe feeling cared for.

Worth knowing: it’s a general practice rather than a kids-only clinic, so its children’s services are less specialized. It doesn’t publish Medi-Cal acceptance online, so confirm your child’s coverage first.

Opening Hours

Hours as published on each clinic’s website or Google Business Profile, October 2026. Call ahead on holidays.

Clinic	Hours
Children’s Choice – East	Mon–Thu 9 AM–6 PM · Fri 8 AM–4 PM · Sat 8 AM–5 PM
Kinder Pediatric Dental	Mon–Thu 8 AM–5 PM
Smileland – Bernard St	Mon–Fri 8:30 AM–6 PM
Kern Kids Dental	Mon–Thu 8 AM–5 PM
Just For Kids	Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM · Sat 8 AM–12 PM
Bakersfield Children’s Dentistry	Mon–Thu 8 AM–5 PM · Fri 8 AM–12 PM
CaliDental – Niles	Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM · Sat 9 AM–3 PM

All seven are closed on Sundays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which pediatric dentist serving East Bakersfield offers the most comprehensive care?

Children’s Choice Dental Care Bakersfield – East on White Lane is the only clinic in this guide that publishes all seven core services in one kids-only office:

• Medi-Cal
• Laughing gas
• General anesthesia
• Special needs care
• Braces
• Saturday hours
• A kids-only office

What does comprehensive children’s dentistry include?

It covers every stage of a child’s dental life in one place:

• Infant exams
• Cleanings, fluoride and sealants
• Fillings, crowns and extractions
• Space maintainers
• Sedation for anxious children or extensive treatment
• Special needs care
• Orthodontics in the school-age and teen years

Can a toddler get dental treatment under general anesthesia in Bakersfield?

Yes. Children’s Choice and Kinder Pediatric Dental both offer general anesthesia in the office with an anesthesiologist, so toddlers who need extensive treatment can be cared for without a hospital referral. Kern Kids Dental also lists general anesthesia.

When should my child have a first orthodontic check?

Around age 7, as the American Association of Orthodontists recommends. Children’s Choice offers early orthodontic treatment and free consultations, and Kern Kids Dental lists orthodontic screenings.

Does Medi-Cal cover braces for kids?

Medi-Cal covers orthodontics for teens who qualify. Children’s Choice lists orthodontics among the Medi-Cal benefits it provides to qualifying patients ages 13 to 18.

Which East Bakersfield kids’ dentists are open on Saturday?

Children’s Choice lists Saturday hours from 8 AM to 5 PM, Just For Kids opens Saturday mornings from 8 AM to noon, and CaliDental on Niles Street is open Saturdays from 9 AM to 3 PM.

Is there free dental care for babies and toddlers in Kern County?

Yes. The Kern County Children’s Dental Health Network offers free dental education, screenings, fluoride and restorative care to every Kern County child from birth to age 5.

Does Children’s Choice ask about immigration status?

No. The practice states that its team will never ask about a family’s immigration status.