Born and raised in the small, midwestern town of Hastings, Nebraska, Dr. Waters knew she had a strong passion for serving others and characteristically has a nurturing personality. She was torn between several pathways, but decided to pursue nursing as the window into the healthcare world. She was accepted into the nursing program at Creighton University, and worked for several years as a nurse in critical care nursing and pediatric nursing. She had always had an interest in the field of dentistry, and after her experience working as a sedation nurse for an oral surgeons office, she was encouraged to apply to dental school.
She attended the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry, in Lincoln NE where she graduated with honors. Pediatric dentistry was calling her name due to her love for working with the little ones, and was accepted into the pediatric residency program at Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, TX. During her residency, she received extensive training in sedation and hospital dentistry and medically complex/special healthcare needs for children, while working at Childrens Medical Center of Dallas and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. She also is a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and received her board certification in 2013.
Dr. Waters truly understands that practicing with compassion, understanding, and open communication is paramount to establish an ideal doctor-patient-parent relationship and to deliver the highest quality of care. This is what she strives to build her practice upon every single day.
Dr. Waters is married to her husband, Joe, and they have 3 small children, and a 15-year-old yorkie-chihuahua named Ernie. After living in coastal South Carolina for several years, they are overjoyed to make their way back to the DFW area and feel blessed to call Flower Mound their home.
When she is not helping others maintain healthy and beautiful smiles, she loves to spend time with her family hiking, playing board games, running, or you may even spot her paddle-boarding at Lake Grapevine.
Pediatric dentists have an additional 2-3 years of education beyond their 4 years of dental school. By completing this intensive and selective training program, pediatric dentists are well equipped to treat all children, including children with special health care needs or medically compromising conditions. In addition, they have advanced training in sedation techniques including oral sedation, IV sedation, and in-hospital general anesthesia techniques that allows them to treat children with severe early childhood caries, growth and development disturbances, or infants that may require laser frenectomy release. Dr. Waters is also a Board certified PD which means that she voluntarily completed two rigorous examinations following her residency program to become Board Certified.
We believe that by working together with our families to educate both parent and child on the importance of good oral health, we can help to create and maintain optimal dental health and overall well-being throughout their lives. Parents are invited to experience the dental visit together with their child, no matter their age. There are always some circumstances where a child may cooperate better for our team with parental absence, then that will be discussed ahead of time and the parent is allowed to make that choice. We value that trust that you place in us in caring for your little ones, and want to create positive outcomes together in a team environment.
Reviews
Rating 5.0 out of 5 based on 133 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestElizabeth Anne
a year ago
We came to Dr. Waters on recommendation from our myofunctional therapist for a tongue and lip tie release. Dr Waters and her team were so, so patient with my daughter and took the extra time to explain everything to me. Her front office team was so kind and helped me understand insurance items. It was all of this that made me decide to move from my dentist that's 5 minutes from my house to Dr. Waters for my kids, 30 minutes away. We have since gone back to teeth cleanings, and the same, wonderful experience as our previous times. We LOVE Dr. Water's. Not only her, but her entire team. 100% the best decision to switch my kids to her trustworthy and very capable hands!
Megan Peterson
a year ago
You couldn't ask for for a better dentist and team. They are so kind and patient and both of my boys have had great experiences. Never any tears!
Nicole Ripke
a year ago
5 star experience! The staff is so kind and welcoming upfront to the hygienist being so understanding and sweet! Dr. Waters is by far the best pediatric dentist I have met very knowledgeable! I will be keeping this office for my son and personally recommend for anyone's child! Very informative, answers all of your questions & even helped guide my 3 year old through the office so he could take pics of all toy story characters! HOW SWEET! Gorgeous/ clean office. Makes the experience for parents and the child so calming and great! Thanks staff & Dr. Waters!
Pacina Moreland
2 years ago
The team at Dental Care 4 Kids is incredibly kind, patient, professional, and great with kids!
Andrew Nelson
2 years ago
Referred by a dentist friend of Dr. Waters for her honesty, friendliness, and proficiency in pediatric dentistry. My family couldn't have had a better experience. Dr. Waters and her staff went out of their way to make it awesome. Much more could be said, but long story short, they know how thankful we are for their help and you will too if you call them to experience the above. Thanks again and highly recommended!
tune bigner
2 years ago
All three of my kids go to Dr. Waters. Growing up I was always so scared to go to my dentist, but my kids love Dr. Waters. She is so gentle and kind, and they've always had a great experience every time!
Rose M
2 years ago
This was our first visit with Dr Waters and our expectations were met and exceeded beyond measure! Dr Waters and the staff are very kind, friendly and professional. Most importantly, our 3 yr old was treated with such patience & gentleness that she never cried or fussed at all during the entire visit. Excellent staff & excellent visit! I highly HIGHLY recommend Dental Care 4 Kids!
Aubrie Chamberlin
2 years ago
Absolutely LOVED our experience at Dental Care 4 Kids! I brought my 22 month old for her first dental appointment, and from the first phone call to schedule all the way to walking out the door after the appointment, we received 7 star service. They were extremely accommodating with my requests (no fluoride, no artificial sweeteners used during cleaning, turned the TV off because we don't do screen time yet) and they were so patient and sweet to my baby. We saw Gina, Jessica, and Dr. Waters, and all were excellent to us. I highly recommend this office!!!
Jacinta Vanderputten
2 years ago
Highly recommend this office to anyone with a kiddo that gets nervous at the dentist. Dr. Waters, Rachel, Gina and her team did such a great job keeping the atmosphere calm and comfortable! Thank you Dental team for great communications and positive vibes!
Katie Marsh
2 years ago
Cannot say enough good things about Dr. Waters! She revised my daughter's tongue tie & as a first time mom, I was SO nervous. As a speech language pathologist & mom, I cannot recommend her enough. She was so kind, took the time to listen to all my concerns, explained everything in detail, & made me feel so safe & supported. Truly an amazing person & dentist.
Hallie Musser
2 years ago
Truly the best dental experience we have had. Our little boys felt very cared for and they stayed calm through out the whole process! Definitely would recommend to any and all!
Manaswini Mishra
2 years ago
They are awesome, Great Experience and beautiful place, Doctor Waters and Staffs are very friendly and helpful. My kiddo likes it so much. Ms.Rachel is so kind and nice . Definitely recommended!!
Kevin Byrne
2 years ago
This office was great! It was our first time here and my son is looking forward to coming back! The staff was extremely welcoming and professional, the office was very clean and kid friendly! All our questions and concerns were answered before we left! Would def recommend to my family and friends!
Lily Castillo
2 years ago
I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Waters and her team. They are amazing with both of my kids and they love going to her office. Thank you Dr. Water for all that you do to make my kids feel comfortable and not be scared of going to the dentist anymore!
Kelley Cummins
2 years ago
Dr Waters and her staff are so great!! My young daughter had her first cavities filled today and I can't believe how well it went. Dr Waters even texted me later in the evening to see how she was doing. They are so wonderful with kids. Highly recommend!
The Fig Family
2 years ago
Dr. Waters is thorough, knowledgeable and incredibly kind. Her team is nice and welcoming. Terrific practice!
Jackie Parr
2 years ago
This is the perfect place for kids. They have movies the kids can watch while getting their dental care. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and patient. The doctor is wonderful as well! Check them out, you won't be disappointed.
Kristan Irby
2 years ago
Dr. Waters is a miracle worker and I cannot thank her enough for what she did for my baby boy. I have a 7 week old who has been absolutely miserable since about 2 weeks old. Gassy, fussy, doesn't sleep much, cries all the time and was told he has colic by the pediatrician and it would last until he was 3-4 months old. My sister, Dr. Courtney Prince, is a chiropractor and has been adjusting him while we are visiting from Lubbock and she listened to our problems and found a lip tie on him Monday. Our pediatrician wouldn't be able to see him until November 30th so as a last ditch effort we reached out to Dental Care 4 Kids to see if we could be seen while we were here in town. We called the office Tuesday and were able to be squeezed in that afternoon. Dr. Waters spent time talking to us about his symptoms and problems were having, explained possibilities of what could be causing everything and then evaluated him for ties. He ended up having both a level 2 lip tie and a posterior tongue tie which could be fixed in office that day. We decided to move forward with the corrective procedures and I'm so glad we did! After he got home and took a nap, he woke up a completely new kid. He wasn't fussy and was in a great mood. There was some soreness that caused a little fussiness that evening but the last two days have been absolute heaven compared to where we were last week. My baby is now eating more, napping and sleeping better, not snoring, not having as painful gas/stools, latching better, not getting as frustrated when eating, and just overall in a much better mood. He smiled and coos all day and is the happy baby I knew he should've been all along!! It's like Dr. Waters found the reset switch and just fixed him instantly. I will definitely trust her with any other dental procedures that need to be done in the future (even if we have to travel from Lubbock to do them) and I would confidently recommend her to family and friends in the Flower Mound area. Not only did she take the time to explain everything about he procedure thoroughly, she had so much patience, answered our questions, took the time to explain follow up care, and even called and text to check on our baby throughout the days following his procedures. She truly cares about her patients and it shows. We cannot thank her enough for taking such good care of our baby! -Kristan Irby
Janet Dougherty
2 years ago
This is going to be long, but to understand just how wonderful Dr.Water is you will want to read it all. My daughter had been dealing with a VERY fussy baby for 6 1/2 weeks. His pediatrician said it was just colic. I had been helping her in Lubbock since he was born. I had to bring her home for a week to work. He was getting worse and we took him to a chiropractor, she found a lip tie that had been missed. I called Dental care 4 kids and explained the long story of the past 6 weeks. They knew that this would be a one time visit, no follow up and not a long time patient. Dr.Water was more than willing to see him. When we got there, she found a lip tie and a posterior tongue tie. She explained how and why his symptoms were getting worse and what needed to be done. She took so much time to explain everything. She allowed time for my daughter to call her husband in Lubbock and talk. She did the procedure and I can't tell you how much of a difference this baby is now. Dr.Water called to check on him that afternoon and the next day to check on him. She is so passionate about helping babies and children. Her knowledge is incredible and helped to explain exactly what he was experiencing. If I still had small children I would bring them to her. As a grandmother, watching your child a grandchild suffer is excruciating. She is a God Send!
Stacy Flaum
2 years ago
I took my son this week for his first ever Dentist appointment. He loved it. The entire staff was warm and welcoming. Going out of their way to make him comfortable. Dr. Melissa is so sweet and professional. They had special rewards for him and Christmas crafts to do after his appointment. He talked about his visit all day. Highly recommend taking your children there.
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