Grand opening held to celebrate
KYLE — As the Kyle Chamber of Commerce pointed out, there is something to be said about a business that opens its third successful location in three years.
Kids Tooth Team, spearheaded by Dr. Alex Otto and her husband Tim, celebrated its grand opening on Feb. 18 at its third and newest location, 930 Kohler’s Crossing, Suite 600 in Kyle. With two other locations in Buda and South Austin, the practice has quickly become a fixture in the area.
“We feel like every kid deserves the best care in the world in the safest and cleanest facilities, regardless of their socioeconomic status or geographic location,” Dr. Otto said. “For us it’s extremely nice to be able to deliver that quality of care, because there are lots of offices who expand for expansion's sake and that's just not what we're doing. We feel like we're really offering something different and we care about our community a ton.”
Dr. Otto said they started looking at opportunities to expand into Kyle last year. Having a dedicated client base in the area was instrumental, but a new location here means the team is able to further what Kids Tooth Team is all about.
“In our mission and our vision, we want to elevate the quality and expand the availability of children's rural health care in our community. So for us, that was always kind of part of the plan: to expand and be able to provide that same level and quality of care no matter where we were,” Dr. Otto explained. “We realized that Buda and Kyle are kind of their own separate entities and people in Kyle really tend to like staying in the community … We know this area is growing a ton, too, so it just was sort of a natural transition to kind of come here and start one.”
Dr. Otto rotates between all three offices, which are staffed with a dedicated team of full-time and part-time doctors, dental hygienists and more, but what makes Kids Tooth Team truly stand out from other practices is the mobile outreach clinic.
The van was donated by St. David’s Foundation in 2021 and travels around local rural counties to provide free dental care for children who have limited access.
While permanent staffing and outreach efforts are still being worked out, the outreach clinic was able to provide more than $100,000 in free dental care for children in and around Hays County last year. This year, the clinic is doubling its treatment days and adding more schools to the roster, so that number is expected to increase.
“For us to have these beautiful offices with incredible doctors and then be able to give back through the outreach program on the van, I feel like it's something that's really unique to us and special,” Dr. Otto said. “I want to go and have them [the kids] be so excited that the van is here … I want them to look forward to us coming to their schools and give them the same ‘wow’ experience [as in the office].”
Focusing on ensuring these young patients have a fun and stress-free dentist visit is integral to Kids Tooth Team. Along with offering a variety of sedation options to help alleviate anxiety, the practice features a play area in the lobby, TV screens mounted above chairs and noise-canceling headphones.
“You don’t have to force kids through treatment,” Dr. Otto said. “That's basically what our pediatric residency is. We do two more years after dental school just in pediatrics. A big part of that is called behavior management and learning about child psychology and development … The [office] environment to me is that I want them to feel like the second they walk in, it's a safe space and it's calm.”
“Kids literally like to stop by and say, 'Hi!' because they love coming to see us,” she continued. “It's realizing that it doesn't have to be a scary experience. It can be a fun, good experience that they can look forward to every six months instead of it being something they're nervous about.”
While money can be a point of contention when deciding treatment, Dr. Otto says that the practice offers a $125 new patient special, works with most insurances including Medicaid and has payment plan options.
“The reality is if you do have something going on and you’re putting it off, it’s just going to be more expensive [to treat],” Dr. Otto said. “I think the key to keeping health care inexpensive is prevention.”
February is also National Children’s Dental Health Month. For Dr. Otto, one of her biggest tips for parents is to establish a dental home for their children early on instead of “waiting until their first tooth falls out.”
“Establishing a dental home by age 1 allows us to really keep a close eye on things so that we can catch things when they're small and easy to fix and talk about,” Dr. Otto said. “And then it's also important from a trauma standpoint [like] if a kid falls … Most emergency rooms don't know what to do with a broken tooth. So if you have your dentist, you know where to go.”
Other tips include using fluoride toothpaste, flossing regularly — “I feel like kids in our community are more prone to the in-between-teeth cavities,” she noted — and reducing sugary and sticky snacks like fruit chews and juice.
More information on joining the Kids Tooth Team family and learning more about the practice can be found at www.kidstoothteam.com.
