Meslin Dentistry Is Providing Top-Notch Care To The Whole Family

Meslin Dentistry is a multi-specialty practice providing adult, pediatric, cosmetic and restorative dental services as well as orthodontic services. From babies to grandparents, the practice is able to see the whole family and emphasizes the importance of good dental maintenance and overall health.

Patch caught up with Dr. Min Deng, pediatric dentist at Meslin Dentistry, to learn more about her work and the friendly practice:

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?

Dr. Deng: Prior to my career in dentistry, I had been in the research field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for 12 years. My interest in dentistry started when I had some dental work done including root canal treatment and restorations. After shadowing different dental specialists, I was fascinated by the art and mastery of the profession's technique.

Pediatric dentistry is particularly interesting to me because of my admiration for children’s innocence and their unselfish ways of showing love. After completing my dental school at UConn School of Dental Medicine, I continued my pediatric dentistry training there. As a pediatric dentist, I am constantly inspired by my patients. They have unknowingly taught me lessons in gratitude, humanity, trust and sharing. I’m truly honored to serve them.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those words be?

Dr. Deng: Honesty, integrity, compassion, excellence and dedication

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced in your job?

Dr. Deng: Children, in general, are adaptive and resilient, which in most cases allows them to be cooperative in dental chair. However, sometimes parents transmit their own past experiences and anxieties to their children, which makes it more challenging to coach the children. The difficulty is to help both children and parents to overcome their anxiety.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Dr. Deng: The most satisfying part of my job is to help children overcome their anxiety and see them transition from being nervous and fearful in a dental chair to being calm and relaxed. The smiles on their face at the end of the visit always melt my heart.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?

Dr. Deng: Throughout the years as a pediatric dentist, I’ve learned that being a good pediatric dentist entails far more than knowing about dental diseases and having the technical skills to address them. It also requires the dentist’s ability to build trust and a rapport with young patients, and to be sensitive to the emotional and psychological ramifications of their diagnoses and treatment. Patience, compassion and a gentle demeanor are crucial elements of being successful in pediatric dentistry. I believe that’s what I offer to my young patients.

Office as a whole: We are truly a family-oriented dental office with multiple specialties. Dr. Min provides all aspects of dental services to children including prevention, routine in-office dental treatment and hospital sedation dentistry. Dr. Sue provides dental care for adults including prevention and all aspects of restorative work. She is also a certified Invisalign provider. Dr. Berey offers orthodontic treatment to all age groups, both traditional and Invisalign. Our patients are happy that their entire family can come to us.

We have always embraced new technology that enhances our patient treatment and experience. Digital x-rays give us greater diagnostic ability, while significantly reducing radiation exposure, and digital scanning has replaced the old impression trays — another aspect that has been a big hit with our patients. In the past year, we have acquired the Solea laser for our practice. This has enabled us to provide a wider array of treatment options for both cavity restorations and soft tissue procedures, such as treating lip and tongue ties or canker sores, most without the need for anesthesia. Our patients really love it!

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Dr. Deng: “Follow your passion, start now and work hard toward it.”

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community?

Dr. Deng: We have been participating in community services including gift wrapping at Meriden Mall over the holidays, Mission of Mercy, Give Kids a Smile at the Meriden Community Dental Clinic and food donations for the CT Food Bank. We support several little league, youth soccer, and adult co-ed softball teams in the community as sponsors. We will be continuing our tradition of volunteering and giving back to our community.

About Meslin Dentistry:

Dr. Min Deng is our pediatric dentist, one of the partners (Dr. Sue is the other). Min received a PhD in Biochemistry from Johns Hopkins and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale before entering UConn Dental School, where she also did her residency in Pediatric Dentistry. She joined the practice as an associate in 2014 and became a partner in 2017. Dr. Min is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

Dr. Sue graduated from Dental School in India, and then graduated from the honors program at NYU Dental College. She is a general and cosmetic dentist, and certified Invisalign provider. Sue joined the practice in 2007 and became a Partner in 2010.

Dr. Susan Berey is an orthodontist, and graduate of UCLA. She is an associate in the practice, joining us in 2017 when Dr. Meslin retired.

This Patch article is sponsored by Meslin Dentistry.