Pediatric Dentists in Somerville and Hillsborough, NJ
By Tiffany Slowinski
There is an enormous difference between a dentist being good with children and a practice being built around children.
Both can work.
Parents should just know which one they are choosing.
If you are searching for a pediatric dentist in Somerville or Hillsborough, this guide specifically looks at pediatric dental practices and the specialists they name.
For inclusion, Garden State Circle checked the New Jersey dental license and pediatric specialty permit under the criteria published on the page.
That is the objective part.
Then the parent questions begin.
How young does the practice see children?
What happens at the first dental visit?
How does the office handle a scared child?
Do they treat children with special needs?
What does the practice publish about sedation?
Is the pediatric dentist board-certified?
How do new patients get started?
Those are much more relevant to this search than whether the waiting room photographs well.
For little kids, I think the first visit deserves its own expectations.
You want your child to cooperate.
Of course you do.
The child may have an entirely different goal, like refusing to sit in the chair because it looks suspicious.
A pediatric office should know how to navigate that without making the whole experience feel like a failure.
Ask what the practice does when a young child is hesitant.
For older children who already have dental anxiety, tell the team before the visit.
If your child is afraid of needles, has had a bad experience or gets overwhelmed easily, do not make the dentist discover this in real time.
Give them the information.
For children with special needs, I would ask directly about the office’s experience and accommodations.
Maybe your child needs additional time.
Maybe sensory issues matter.
Maybe a predictable sequence helps.
Maybe seeing the same provider is important.
The practice can only tell you whether it can meet those needs if you ask.
Sedation is another common concern.
The guide records what practices publish, but parents should treat that as background information.
If sedation is recommended in your child’s case, ask the pediatric dentist what type, why it is being considered, what alternatives exist and what the specific instructions and risks are.
You should leave that conversation understanding the plan.
Then there is the question parents ask after all of this.
Can I actually get an appointment?
Somerville and Hillsborough families have busy schedules.
Look at where the office is.
Look at new-patient information.
Ask about school-hour versus after-school options.
Ask whether siblings can be scheduled together.
Ask what happens when there is an urgent issue.
This guide is useful if you are searching for pediatric dentists Somerville NJ, pediatric dentist Hillsborough NJ, kids dentist Somerville, children’s dentist Hillsborough, toddler dentist, first dental appointment, dentist for anxious children, special-needs pediatric dentist, sedation dentistry for kids or pediatric dentist accepting new patients in Somerset County.
The goal is not a child who is thrilled to get their teeth cleaned.
If you have that child, enjoy your miracle.
For the rest of us, calm and cooperative is a perfectly excellent target.
We did the homework here.
For the places actually worth your time, money and babysitter, follow me: @tiffanyknowsnj.
The Guide: Pediatric Dentists in Somerville and Hillsborough, NJ
How We Selected These Pediatric Dentists
This guide covers Somerville, Hillsborough.
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 on September 23, 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. Practices are listed alphabetically.
Where fewer than six practices in these towns met the criteria, the nearest practices that met the same criteria are listed in a second table, each with the town it is based in.
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 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 the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs licensee register in September 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. Where a row carries a verification date, that is when we last checked that business’s record ourselves. A row without one has not been checked recently — that is a fact about our work, not about the business. 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 Somerville, Hillsborough. Contact the publisher at jake@gardenstatecircle.com. How every guide is made, in one place: how every guide is made.
The Pediatric Dentists, Compared
| Practice and town | Specialist(s) named, and the permit as the register prints it, checked Sept 23, 2026 | Board certification (as published) | Residency (as published) | Sedation offered (as published) | Ages seen | New patients | Record checked (Sept 23, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough Pediatric Dentistry Hillsborough | Dr. Amie Shah — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 06634 Active Dr. Chirag Patel — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) Dr. Amy Planz — Dentist license Active · specialty permit under their name at another New Jersey address | Planz: “Diplomat of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry” Shah: “board certified” Patel: “board certified pediatric dentist” | Shah: Maimonides Medical Center Patel: St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, Paterson | Nitrous oxide (site) | Children, teens, and special needs patients | Online booking | Sept 23, 2026 |
| The Children’s Dental Center Somerville | Julianne Kane, D.M.D. — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) | Not published | Brooklyn’s Lutheran Medical Center | Not published | infants, children, adolescents and special needs patients | Appointment request | Sept 23, 2026 |
Checked against the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Dentistry licensee search.
Permit status is what the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs licensee register showed on September 23, 2026, looked up by name. Board certification, residency, ages seen, sedation and new-patient wording are printed as each practice states them on its own website. Record checked names the date we last checked that practice’s record ourselves.
Nearby options
| Practice and town | Specialist(s) named, and the permit as the register prints it, checked Sept 23, 2026 | Board certification (as published) | Residency (as published) | Sedation offered (as published) | Ages seen | New patients | Record checked (Sept 23, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basking Ridge Pediatric Dentistry Based in Basking Ridge | Dr. Tina Nguyen, DDS — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07465 Active Dr. Alexandra Ziarko, DDS — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Br Prmt 07520-01 Active | Nguyen: “board-certified pediatric dentist” | Nguyen: Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center Ziarko: Montefiore Medical Center | Nitrous oxide; general anesthesia (site) | Children, adolescents, special needs patients | Not published | Sept 23, 2026 |
| Branchburg Pediatric Dentistry Based in Branchburg | Dr. Devi — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) Dr. Lapena — Dentist license Active · specialty permit under their name at another New Jersey address | Not published | Not published | Nitrous oxide; general anesthesia (site) | Not published | Appointment request | Sept 23, 2026 |
| Smile Works Pediatric Dentistry Based in Basking Ridge | Dr. Andrea Mann, DMD — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice) | “Board Certified Pediatric Dentist” | Not published | Nitrous oxide; IV sedation; general anesthesia (site) | Infants, children, adolescents, and those with special needs | Appointment request | Sept 23, 2026 |
| Somerset Smile Studio Based in Somerset | Dr. Christina Belgrave — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07021 Active | “Board Certified Pediatric Dentist” | Belgrave: Rutgers University/University Hospital | Not published | Not published | Online booking | Sept 23, 2026 |
A Note on Reading the Table
Board certification and residency are printed as each practice states them on its own website. We have not checked them against a certifying board’s own list.
The Practices
Hillsborough Pediatric Dentistry, Hillsborough
390 Amwell Road Building #2 Suite 201, Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Named on the practice’s own site, with the register record as of Sept 23, 2026: Dr. Amie Shah — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 06634 Active; Dr. Chirag Patel — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice); Dr. Amy Planz — Dentist license Active · specialty permit under their name at another New Jersey address.
The practice’s site also lists an orthodontist, Michael Goldkind, at the same address.
The Children’s Dental Center, Somerville
148 West End Avenue, Somerville, NJ 08876
Named on the practice’s own site, with the register record as of Sept 23, 2026: Julianne Kane, D.M.D. — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice).
Nearby options
Basking Ridge Pediatric Dentistry, Basking Ridge
25 Mountainview Blvd, Ste 201, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Named on the practice’s own site, with the register record as of Sept 23, 2026: Dr. Tina Nguyen, DDS — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07465 Active; Dr. Alexandra Ziarko, DDS — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Br Prmt 07520-01 Active.
Branchburg Pediatric Dentistry, Branchburg
3322 U.S. 22, Suite 201, Building #2, Branchburg, NJ 08876
Named on the practice’s own site, with the register record as of Sept 23, 2026: Dr. Devi — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice); Dr. Lapena — Dentist license Active · specialty permit under their name at another New Jersey address.
Smile Works Pediatric Dentistry, Basking Ridge
150 N. Finley Avenue Suite 101, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Named on the practice’s own site, with the register record as of Sept 23, 2026: Dr. Andrea Mann, DMD — Dentist license Active · Specialty permit Active (legacy type, discipline as published by the practice).
Somerset Smile Studio, Somerset
812 Hamilton St Suite 1, Somerset, NJ 08873
Named on the practice’s own site, with the register record as of Sept 23, 2026: Dr. Christina Belgrave — Dentist license Active · Pediatric-Pedodontic Spec Prmt 07021 Active.
This is a general and pediatric office. Dr. Belgrave is the pediatric dentist at this office; the site also names a general and cosmetic dentist, Dr. Ekow Acquaah.
Common Questions
How do I check a license myself?
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs publishes a licensee search under Dentistry. Search by the dentist’s last name. The record shows the license number, the status and the town on file.
Verified
Verified means we checked identity, licence and published details - not service quality or results.Every detail on this page was checked on September 23, 2026 against each practice’s own website and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs licensee register.
Additional Resources
The same guide for other markets
- Pediatric Dentists in Basking Ridge and Bernardsville, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists near Belle Mead, Skillman and Montgomery Township, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Bridgewater, Branchburg and Raritan, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Chatham and Madison, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists near Clinton, Flemington and Annandale, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Denville and Mountain Lakes, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Franklin Township, Manville and North Plainfield, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Long Branch and Red Bank, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists near Mendham and Chester, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Montville and Kinnelon, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists near Parsippany, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists in Randolph, NJ
- Pediatric Dentists near Warren, Watchung and Green Brook, NJ
NJ Division of Consumer Affairs license verification
Something out of date?
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. Corrections are free, for every practice on this page. A practice that is not listed here and meets the criteria described at the top of this guide can write to the same address.
admin@gardenstatecircle.com
This is not a ranking.