Why Families Choose Sunnyside Dentistry For Children

By Your Health Magazine Reviews Contributor

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Image credit: Dr. Dustin Davis

Choosing a dentist for a child is rarely just about location or insurance. Parents want to know their child will feel safe, be understood, and come away without a lasting fear of dental care. For many families in Clackamas, Happy Valley, and the greater Portland area, that search leads them to Sunnyside Dentistry For Children, a pediatric practice that has served the community since 1995 and, since 2021, has been led by board-certified pediatric dentist Dr. Dustin Davis.

What families appreciate about the practice often comes down to how their children feel during a visit. Much of that traces back to Dr. Davis’s own story: uncomfortable dental visits growing up, years spent earning the trust of anxious young patients, and a belief that a child’s early experiences at the dentist can shape how they feel about oral health for life.

How Dr. Dustin Davis’s Own Dental Visits Shaped His Approach

Dr. Davis didn’t come to pediatric dentistry because he loved going to the dentist. As a teen and young adult, he sat through appointments that stayed with him for the wrong reasons. Injections came without warning. Long procedures left his jaw sore from being held open and his head aching from the chair. During one root canal, his numbness wore off partway through, and with a rubber dam in his mouth, he felt too awkward to ask for more anesthetic.

Those experiences nearly turned him away from dentistry during college. Instead, they shaped the way he now cares for patients. He remembers how it felt to be caught off guard by pain and how vulnerable it felt to lie back with his mouth propped open, unable to speak up. Today, he works to make sure no cooperative child in his chair has to quietly put up with discomfort the way he once did.

Volunteer work helped him realize he wanted to work with children. For four years, he taught weekly Sunday school lessons for children. Colleagues noticed how naturally he connected with young people, and their encouragement helped steer him toward specializing in pediatric dentistry.

Building Trust Through Communication and Control

His own experiences guide how he communicates with children during visits. Before treatment begins, the team explains what will happen in words children can understand and invites them to ask questions. Each child is also shown a simple “stop” signal they can use at any time during treatment. This gives young patients a reliable way to pause when something feels wrong, helping them feel safe and in control.

The team’s response to that signal is just as important. When a child who has been cooperating reports pain, Dr. Davis’s default is to believe them and address it right away, often with additional numbing medicine, rather than pushing through. In his experience, children who learn that their discomfort will be taken seriously are more likely to relax, cooperate, and look forward to their next checkup instead of dreading it.

The team is just as straightforward with parents. At Sunnyside Dentistry For Children, they follow the idea that “clear is kind,” a phrase Dr. Davis borrows from author Brené Brown. In practice, that means setting realistic expectations from the start and clearly explaining treatment plans and post-visit instructions. They’d rather families be pleasantly surprised than disappointed by promises the team can’t keep.

Gentle, Minimally Invasive Care at Sunnyside Dentistry For Children

Dr. Davis takes a similar approach to treatment: prevent problems when possible and, when care is needed, choose the least invasive option that will last. Rather than defaulting to traditional drilling and fillings, he uses a range of conservative, evidence-based techniques:

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF), which can arrest tooth decay without drilling.
Hall Technique crowns, which protect a decayed baby tooth without drilling or needles.
Strong topical anesthetics, which make injections more comfortable when they’re needed.
SOAN intraosseous anesthesia, which provides near-painless numbing while minimizing lip numbness and reducing the risk of post-treatment injuries.

Dr. Davis also has extensive experience with glass ionomer filling materials such as Equia Forte. Traditional white fillings require keeping a tooth completely dry, which is hard with a wiggly child, an active tongue, and plenty of saliva. Glass ionomers bond directly to the tooth and tolerate moisture better, which helps reduce the chance of new decay forming under a filling. Parents should know that these fillings take time to fully harden, so children typically need to avoid hard or crunchy foods for 24 to 48 hours afterward.

Treatment depends on the child’s needs, developmental stage, and long-term oral health goals.

Training, Research, and Board Certification

Families also value the training behind Dr. Davis’s gentle manner. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012, where he received the Francis M. Foster, Sr. Award for scholastic clinical achievement and perseverance. He then completed a two-year pediatric dental residency and a master’s degree in oral sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2014. While there, he served as an on-call emergency dentist at the university’s pediatric dental clinic and hospital, treating complex dental trauma cases in children.

His master’s research examined the ethical and safe use of protective stabilization in pediatric dentistry. Published in the Journal of Dentistry for Children, the work is cited in the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s guidelines and continues to guide his efforts to protect each child’s safety and dignity.

In 2015, Dr. Davis became a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, and he has since passed his 10-year board certification renewal exam. Before returning to his native Oregon in 2021, he practiced in Chicago, Seattle, and Colorado Springs. He’s also conversant in Spanish and Portuguese, which helps him communicate with the diverse families the practice serves.

Rooted in the Clackamas and Happy Valley Community

Families also appreciate the practice’s ties to the community. Raised in Eugene, Dr. Dustin Davis now lives in Happy Valley with his wife and four children, and he’s a regular presence at Clackamas United Soccer events, I-9 Soccer and Basketball activities, and Inspire Dance Center performances.

The practice sponsors Inspire Dance Center’s annual Nutcracker performance and was a lead sponsor of Happy Valley’s Summer Concerts in the Valley series in 2023. It also supports Toys for Tots drives and hosts a Halloween Candy Buy Back program that encourages healthier habits. Children who visit can join the No Cavity Club, where cavity-free checkups earn an entry into a monthly prize drawing.

Every February, during National Children’s Dental Health Month, Dr. Davis gives oral health talks for young students at local elementary schools and preschools. Outside the office, he coordinates volunteers for service projects through his church, including a Red Cross blood drive and a partnership with Catholic Charities to help local families move into new homes.

What Parents Can Look For in a Pediatric Dentist

Parents looking for a pediatric dentist can ask about the same qualities families appreciate at Sunnyside Dentistry For Children:

Does the dentist explain each step in language a child understands?
Is there a clear way for a child to pause treatment if something hurts or feels wrong?
Are minimally invasive options, such as silver diamine fluoride or Hall crowns, discussed when appropriate?
Does the team set clear expectations with parents and follow up after treatment?
Is the focus on encouragement and education rather than shame?

Families have responded positively to this approach. When Dr. Davis took over the practice in 2021, it had 34 Google reviews and a 4.6-star average. Today it has more than 650 reviews with a 4.9-star average.

That feedback has also earned outside recognition. In addition to the 2025 Patients’ Top Choice Award from U.S. News & World Report for patient satisfaction, Sunnyside Dentistry For Children won the People’s Choice Award in Clackamas from the Consumer Ratings Institute in September 2026. BusinessRate also ranked the practice the #1 pediatric dental practice in Oregon for January through June 2026, giving it both its Best of 2026 Benchmark Award and Momentum Award. For Dr. Davis, though, the goal is for children to leave with healthy teeth and no reason to fear coming back.

About the Author

Dr. Dustin Davis is a board-certified pediatric dentist who has led Sunnyside Dentistry For Children in Clackamas, Oregon, since 2021, serving infants, children, and adolescents across Clackamas, Happy Valley, and the greater Portland area. A Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, he focuses on gentle, minimally invasive care that helps children feel at ease and build healthy dental habits for life.