The Guide: Pediatric Dentists in Freehold, NJ
How We Selected These Pediatric Dentists
This guide covers Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell Township, Farmingdale, Manalapan Township and Englishtown.
A practice is on this page when it has a pediatric dentistry office in one of those towns and at least one named dentist whose New Jersey dental license the state register showed as Active in October 2026, and who holds a pediatric specialty permit on that register at that office’s town, primary or branch, or a legacy specialty permit that the practice’s own words tie to pediatric dentistry. That is a test, not a judgment.
Three practices with an office in these towns meet the criteria. Because that is fewer than five, a second table lists the nearest practice that meets the same criteria at its own office, each with the town it is based in. Both tables are listed alphabetically.
About This Guide
This guide is produced by Garden State Circle. Practices appear here because they meet the criteria described above — a pediatric dentistry office in the towns named above or, in the nearby table, near them, and at least one named dentist with an Active New Jersey dental license and a pediatric specialty permit. That is a test, not a judgment, and it is the only route onto this page. No practice can pay to be included in this guide, to be listed higher, or to change what the comparison table says about it. Practices are listed alphabetically, and every detail in the table was verified against each practice’s own website and against the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs licensee register in October 2026.
Everything under the heading that begins this guide is governed by the rules above, on every guide we publish. Where a sponsor’s message appears above that heading, it is paid for and labelled, and it buys nothing in the guide. Garden State Circle is supported by the businesses that participate in it. Participation pays for our ongoing work: keeping a business’s entry accurate, re-checking its record, and publishing a page of its own details that the business maintains. There is no paid placement in this guide. Participation does not buy a place here, a position here, or anything the comparison table says. Nothing on this page is medical advice. Every treatment described here carries risks that depend on your own health and history, and the person to discuss them with is a licensed provider who has examined you.
Garden State Circle is published in New Jersey by Tiffany and Jake Slowinski and covers Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell Township, Farmingdale, Manalapan Township and Englishtown. Contact the publisher at jake@gardenstatecircle.com. How every guide is made, in one place: how every guide is made.
The Practices, Compared
Listed alphabetically. The specialist column shows names as each practice writes them on its own website, with what the state register returned for each of those names in October 2026; a permit the register shows under the name at an address the practice does not publish is stated that way. The other columns restate what the practice itself publishes; Not published means we read the website and the fact is not on it.
| Practice and town | Specialist(s) named, and the permit as the register prints it, checked October 2026 | Board certification (as published) | Residency (as published) | Sedation offered (as published) | Ages seen | New patients | Record checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Dayz Pediatric Dentistry Freehold | Dr. Binni Patel — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Br Prmt 06683-01 Active Dr. Joe Merola — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07203 Active | B. Patel: “Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry”; Merola: Not published | B. Patel: Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx (“specialty training in Pediatric Residency”); Merola: Staten Island University Hospital (“residency in General Dentistry”, then “residency in Pediatric Dentistry”) | Nitrous oxide (site) | Not published | Request an appointment; new-patient form | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Star Pediatric Dentistry (Manalapan office) Manalapan | Dr. Rishi Verma, DDS, FAAPD — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) Dr. Brianne Donohue, DDS — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 06780 Active | Verma: “Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry”; Donohue: “Diplomate – American Board of Pediatric Dentistry” | Verma: Harvard general practice residency (Brigham and Women’s, Massachusetts General, Dana-Farber); Fellowship Certificate in Special Care Dentistry, Helen Hayes Hospital; Donohue: “two-year pediatric dental residency” at St. Barnabas Hospital, Bronx | “Sedation” (site; type not stated) | “from your baby’s first tooth to your teenager’s wisdom teeth”; “from infancy to adulthood, including those with special needs” | Call to schedule: (732) 303-7827; online new-patient forms | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Tender Smiles 4 Kids (Freehold office) Freehold | Dr. Liya Ostrow — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) Dr. Scott Michels — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) Dr. Daniel Weidberg — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 06985 Active | Not published (not found on the pages read) | Not published (not found on the pages read) | Nitrous oxide; IV sedation; conscious oral sedation; general anesthesia / hospital dentistry (site) | Not published (not found on the pages read) | Call to schedule: 732-625-8080; patient forms page | Oct 18, 2026 |
Nearby options
Pediatric dental practices nearest these towns that meet the same criteria at their own office, listed alphabetically, each with the town it is based in.
| Practice and town | Specialist(s) named, and the permit as the register prints it, checked October 2026 | Board certification (as published) | Residency (as published) | Sedation offered (as published) | Ages seen | New patients | Record checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlboro Pediatric Dentistry (Sunny Smiles) Based in Marlboro | Dr. Yana Kozlovsky — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) Dr. Minjin Yoo — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07083 Active Dr. Kristina Bekiyants — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07705 Active | Kozlovsky: “Board Certified Pediatric Dentist … Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry”; Yoo: “Board Certified Pediatric Dentist”; Bekiyants: Not published | Kozlovsky: general practice residency at Mountainside Hospital; “residency in Pediatric Dentistry at Maimonides Medical Center”; Bekiyants: “specialty training in Pediatric Dentistry at Stony Brook University” | Nitrous oxide sedation (site) | “young children and adolescents”; “from the first tooth to adolescence” | Request an appointment; new-patient registration form | Oct 18, 2026 |
Checked against the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Dentistry licensee search.
License and permit statuses were read from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs license verification register in October 2026, by searching each name as a person under the profession Dentistry. Board certification, residency, sedation, ages seen and new-patient wording are printed as each practice states them on its own website, read in October 2026. We have not checked board certification against a certifying board’s own list.
Something Out of Date?
This guide is maintained. If anything here is wrong or has changed — a dentist who has joined or left a practice, a license status, an address, a booking method, or whether a practice has closed — tell us and we will check it. Practices listed here are welcome to write in directly.
And if you run a pediatric dental practice with an office in Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell Township, Farmingdale, Manalapan Township or Englishtown that should be on this list, write to us. The criteria are the same for everyone: a pediatric dentistry office in one of those towns, and at least one named dentist with an Active New Jersey dental license and a pediatric specialty permit for that office. If you meet them, you go on.
Something out of date?
This guide is maintained. If anything here is wrong or has changed — a credential, who is at the practice, insurance participation, or whether they are taking new patients — tell us and we will check it. Businesses listed here are welcome to write in directly.
admin@gardenstatecircle.com
Additional Resources
NJ Division of Consumer Affairs license verification
This is not a ranking.