Bliss Dental Group now offers pediatric dentistry
Dr. Andrew Danberg-Ficarelli recently joined the practice
Bliss Dental Group of Norwood is happy to welcome to its practice Dr. Andrew Danberg-Ficarelli, a board-certified pediatric dentist.
Dr. Ficarelli has practiced dentistry in the Boston area since 2012. Pediatric dentistry is a family profession.
Dr. Ficarelli says, “I am originally from Newton Centre and now live in Boston, where I earned my D.M.D. from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. It has been an honor to follow my father Dr. John Ficarelli in the career of pediatric dentistry working in communities of the Boston area.
“I am also the current president of the board of directors of the nonprofit dental outreach organization Project Stretch: Dentistry Reaching out to Children. Since 2019, I have served as the dentist representative for the state's MA Health Care Services Board. During dental school, I was chosen for a national leadership position in the American Student Dental Association. I continued at Tufts to complete my specialty residency in pediatric dentistry and was appointed chief resident by the Tufts Department of Pediatric Dentistry. I was board-certified by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry in 2014.
“I earned my B.A. in economics and political science from Columbia College of Columbia University. I am fluent in Spanish and have lived and worked in Latin America. I am an impassioned hiker and oarsman, still enjoying competition in Head of the Charles masters events. My siblings and I own and operate Catboat Coffee Co. in Vineyard Haven, which opened in 2023.”
Dr. Ficarelli is excited to join the Bliss Dental Group and work with longtime friend Dr. Maranda Bliss.
Dr. Bliss manages the practice she started in 2017 when she took over the practice of the late Dr. Thomas Hawley. Since that time, BDG has grown in size and is now growing in services. Dr. Bliss has always seen children in her practice but says “I have limitations in my education and equipment for some advanced pediatric care. Dr. Ficarelli is able to offer so many more services than I can.”
Dr. Bliss and Dr. Ficarelli have been friends for over 20 years. She was an assistant in his father's practice in Brookline years ago, and then they were in dental school together (she graduated in 2008, he graduated in 2010). They are both excited about increasing the multispecialty services BDG can offer its patients.
Bliss Dental Group offers general and specialty dentistry, preventative care, cosmetic care, CEREC (chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramics), dental implants and guards, and more.
They also specialize in anxiety-free dentistry and same-day service.
Dr. Bliss says, “I have many anxiety-reducing techniques that I do when seeing our adult patients. For example, when I'm shaping a tooth for a filling or crown, and I’m drilling, I do a countdown method. This puts patients in a state of hypnosis and gives them a clear start and end time when the dentist is working. I'm usually able to complete a crown prep with four stretches of counting to 30.”
It's also helpful that BDG has technology within its office to start and complete a crown in one visit, no temporaries are needed, and no additional (potentially anxiety-invoking) return visit is required.
BDG also offers full arch reconstruction, full arch rehabilitation (including full arch teeth extraction), same-day implant placement, and same-day screw-retained temporary prostheses (which are not removable but are anchored in place with the implants as secure attachments).
Says Dr. Bliss, “Come in with damaged teeth or no teeth. Leave with a brand new smile all done at Bliss Dental Group in one procedure on the same day by working with a periodontist and on-site lab to customize your new teeth.” And if you’re looking for a way to introduce your child to good oral health care, Bliss Dental Group is for you.
When should my child start seeing a dentist?
Ideally, your child should go to the dentist by her first birthday, but it’s generally fine to wait until 2 or 3. Putting it off any longer than that, however, increases your child’s risk of having plaque buildup or cavities at her first visit.
Some parents assume that because baby teeth will eventually fall out there’s little point in caring for them, this is a huge mistake. Even though you can’t see them, your child’s permanent teeth are developing under their primary ones and it’s important to have a dentist check that everything in your child’s mouth is developing normally.
Bliss Dental Group’s new pediatric dentist, Dr. Andrew Danberg-Ficarelli, offers the following services to BDG patients:
– board-certified pediatric dentistry
– checkups
– x-rays for cavity detection and growth/development
– dental cleanings
– multi-flavor fluoride varnish application
– protective sealants
– silver diamine fluoride cavity arresting treatment
– dental cosmetic procedures
– white fillings
– crowns
– pulp treatment
– extractions
– Nitrous Oxide anxiety management
– early childhood interceptive orthodontics
– lip/tongue tie laser therapy
– trauma management
– emergency on-call
Source: blissdentalnorwood.com/patient-information/faq/
To meet with any of the Bliss Dental Group staff, make an appointment online at blissdentalnorwood.com (where you can also take a virtual tour of the office) or call 781-769-4473. BDG is located at 111 Lenox St. in Norwood.
