Dentique Dental Care is a general and family dental practice with offices in Downers Grove and Lemont, Illinois, and it sees children, teens and adults with the same dentist. Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj has been in practice for more than 30 years and rotates between the two offices, so your kids see the same face you do.
Plenty of people book here after years away. That gap is common enough that we plan around it instead of remarking on it.
General and family dentistry is the routine and preventive care one practice provides to every age in a household (exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings and gum treatment), which keeps small problems small. At Dentique Dental Care in Downers Grove and Lemont, that covers dental cleanings, preventive care and gum disease treatment for kids, teens and adults.
That is the working definition of a family dentist: the everyday work for every age, in one place, with anything outside that scope referred on. Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj, DDS, FDOCS, FICOI is the practice’s only dentist and rotates between the two offices, so a household keeps the same clinician across its checkups.
One word does need separating out, though. Family and pediatric are not the same thing.
A pediatric dentist completes two to three years of specialty training after dental school and limits their practice to treating children only, according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. A family dentist, also called a general dentist, is trained and licensed to treat every age, and that is what Dentique Dental Care is: Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj, DDS, FDOCS, FICOI is licensed to practice as a general dentist in Illinois.
For most children the practical difference is small. Routine checkups, cleanings and fillings are general dental work, and a family practice does them for a child the same way it does them for a parent.
The difference matters at the edges. A very young child, a complex medical need, or care that needs deeper sedation than a general practice provides is better handled by a specialist, and we will say so rather than take the appointment.
| Family and general dentist | Pediatric dentist | |
|---|---|---|
| Training | Dental school, then licensed to treat every age | Dental school plus two to three years of specialty training (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) |
| Who they see | Children, teens and adults | Children only (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) |
| Usually the right choice when | Routine checkups, cleanings, fillings, and the whole household in one place | A very young child, a complex medical need, or care that needs deeper sedation than a general practice provides |
| At Dentique | This is us. Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj is licensed to practice as a general dentist in Illinois. | We will tell you when a child is better served by a specialist. |
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry puts a first dental visit at when the first tooth appears, or no later than the child’s first birthday. A check-up every six months is recommended after that, to prevent cavities and other dental problems.
That first checkup is short and mostly a look: what has come through, how the teeth are sitting, and whatever the parent has been wondering about. Dentique Dental Care treats children as part of its general and family dentistry, alongside their parents.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry sets the first visit at whichever comes first. It is a look and a conversation, not treatment.
The interval exists to catch decay while it is small enough to be simple, and to keep the room familiar.
CDC Oral Health Surveillance Report, covering 2017 to March 2020.
What is bothering you, what you are worried about, and how long it has been. Nobody comments on the answer to the last one.
Dental fear is a common reason people stay away for years, and at Dentique Dental Care it is planned for rather than treated as something to get past. Two comfort options are available: nitrous oxide, which most people know as laughing gas, and oral conscious sedation, which is a pill to relax you.
A child who is scared of the chair and an adult who is anxious about the same room are handled the same way here. They are worked through slowly, with the option to stop, and with the plan agreed before the appointment rather than on the day.
Breathed through a small mask, it takes the edge off while you stay awake and able to answer. It wears off before you leave, so you can drive yourself home.
Taken before the appointment, for people whose anxiety does not settle with talking alone. Someone else drives you home.
Which one suits you, or whether you need either, gets decided in conversation before the appointment rather than on the day. If a child needs more than these two options, we will say so and point you to someone who can help.
Most routine work is done without sedation. Plenty of nervous patients get through a checkup on nothing more than being told what happens next, and being told before it happens.
Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj, DDS, FDOCS, FICOI holds a fellowship with DOCS Education, which is what the FDOCS letters stand for. Sedation here is a route that gets offered and discussed, not something attached to a treatment plan to raise its price.
How much anything beyond that costs depends on what the visit finds. Your price is confirmed in writing at the consultation, before treatment starts. Fees can be adjusted if something unexpected turns up during the work, and you will be told before that happens, not after.
Delta Dental, MetLife, Cigna, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare, Guardian and Humana. We work with most major PPO plans.
The $250 New Patient Special covers a checkup, X-rays and a cleaning. Third-party financing is available through CareCredit, Cherry and Sunbit.
We check your plan and confirm your share in writing at the consultation, before treatment begins.
Scale, polish, and the checks that catch decay while it is still small. Most people come twice a year.
Deep cleaning and periodontal therapy for gums that bleed, pull back from the tooth, or hold on to plaque.
Repair for a cavity, usually done in one appointment.
Clear aligners for crowding, gaps and bite problems, in teens and adults.
Call and you will get a call back with an honest answer about when we can see you. One dentist across two offices means availability is limited, so what you get is the real next opening rather than a promise.
Comfort options get talked through before the appointment rather than sprung on the day. The two the practice offers are nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation.
A family dentist is a general dentist who treats patients of every age rather than one age group, which means one practice for the whole household. Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj, who is licensed to practice as a general dentist in Illinois, sees children, teens and adults at both Dentique Dental Care offices. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry draws the line differently for a pediatric dentist, whose practice is limited to children only.
A pediatric dentist has two to three years of specialty training after dental school and a practice limited to treating children, which makes one worth choosing for a very young child, a complex medical need, or care that needs deeper sedation than a general practice offers. If your child falls into one of those, we will tell you and point you to someone who does that work. We would rather say so than take the appointment.
A dental visit for a child with sensory sensitivities usually works when the visit is built around the child: a shorter first appointment with no treatment, a quieter time of day, a familiar routine, and a parent who tells the practice in advance what to expect. Most children can then be seen in an ordinary chair. The same approach works for autistic children and for any child who finds the room overwhelming. Call and say what your child needs before you book, and we will work the appointment out around it.
Many small fillings are done with local anaesthetic alone, and whether a particular child needs more than that depends on the child, the tooth, and how long the appointment will take. That decision gets made with the parent before the day, not in the chair. The two comfort options the practice offers are nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation.
Cost is the reason people most often give for staying away, and there are three routes here: the $250 New Patient Special, most major PPO plans, and third-party financing through CareCredit, Cherry or Sunbit. Whichever applies to you, your price is confirmed in writing at the consultation before treatment starts.
Dr. Xhelo Shuaipaj DDS FDOCS FICOI is the dentist at Dentique Dental Care, with more than 30 years in practice across the Downers Grove and Lemont offices, and he wrote and reviewed this page.
FDOCS is Fellow, DOCS Education. FICOI is Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
Get the smile you deserve today!