North Naples · Dr. Tim Verwest, DMD & Associates
Kid-first dental care for infants, toddlers, kids and teens, with a sixteen-foot whale shark over the treatment bay. New patients welcome.
Since 1992
Why Naples parents choose us
A sixteen-foot whale shark over the treatment bay, a blue whale over the lobby, the S.S. Flossy pirate nook, and underwater video on the screens above every treatment window. A child busy being delighted is a far easier child to examine than a tense one.
Parents stay close the whole visit. Everything is explained in kid words before it happens, and children under three are almost always examined on your lap, facing you, the entire time.
From a dab of flavored numbing cream, to laughing gas, to IV sedation with a highly trained pediatric anesthesiologist for bigger treatment plans. You always discuss the options with your pediatric dentist first.
One call books it, Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. New patient forms arrive ahead of time, and sibling appointments back to back are routine, so one trip can cover the whole crew.
The Naples office
Every photo below is our real Naples office at 1035 Piper Blvd. Kids tend to look up before they look around, and a child staring at a whale shark is not a child worrying about a checkup.
Care at the Naples office
A comprehensive exam, a professional cleaning and a growth check every six months, because checkups every six months keep little problems little.
Fluoride treatments while enamel is still forming, and BPA-free dental sealants for the deep grooves of the back teeth, where cavities like to start.
Low-dose digital X-rays are taken only when they are genuinely needed. For young children that is often not at all.
Tooth-colored composite fillings that preserve healthy tooth structure. Crowns when a filling is not enough: durable stainless steel on back molars, natural-looking resin up front.
A pulpotomy saves a hurting tooth, usually finished with a crown. Gentle extractions, and space maintainers when a baby tooth leaves too soon.
A first visit by the first birthday, as the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends. Lap exams, teething guidance, and thumb and pacifier support.
Individualized care built around what you tell us: extra time, a calmer room, and the same patient team at every visit.
Topical numbing cream, gentle local anesthetics, laughing gas, and IV sedation with a pediatric anesthesiologist. Always discussed with you first.
Growth and alignment are checked at every routine visit in Naples, so braces never arrive as a surprise. Comprehensive orthodontic care with Dr. Whitesides, our orthodontist, is offered at our Fort Myers office, coordinated as one practice.
Tooth pain, a chipped tooth, a knocked-out tooth: call, describe what you can see, and the front desk sorts out what to do next with you. Trouble breathing or swallowing, bleeding that will not stop, or a possible head injury go to 911 or the emergency room before any dentist.
Your child's visit, by age
Pick your child's age and see what the appointment actually looks like, what we watch for, and what to mention when you book.
Ages Under 1
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a first dental visit by the first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth arriving, whichever comes first. It is the easiest possible version of the appointment: a gentle lap exam with your baby sitting on you, facing you, the whole time.
How the first teeth are coming in, gums and bite, and a real conversation with you about teething, bottles, pacifiers and how to clean a mouth that is mostly gums. Digital X-rays are taken only when genuinely needed, which for babies is usually not at all.
Ages 1 to 3
Under age three, nearly everything happens as a lap exam: your child on your lap, facing you, while your pediatric dentist counts teeth out loud and explains each step before it happens. Nobody small gets handed to a stranger here.
Teeth coming in on schedule, early signs of decay, and habits: thumbs, pacifiers, bottles and snacks. From here the rhythm settles into a checkup every six months.
Ages 4 to 6
A look, a count, and a cleaning with the small spinning polisher most kids report as ticklish. Instruments get introduced by name, nothing arrives unannounced, and if your child needs breaks, we take breaks.
Fluoride treatments while enamel is still forming, and BPA-free sealants for the deep grooves of the back teeth. The last few minutes go to coaching, aimed at your child as much as at you: brushing two full minutes, twice a day.
Ages 7 to 12
Baby teeth start leaving and adult molars start arriving, sometimes in the same week. A routine visit is the exam, the cleaning, and someone qualified confirming which parts of all that wiggling are ordinary.
Growth and alignment get checked at every routine visit, so orthodontics arrives on time instead of as a shock. The American Association of Orthodontists suggests an orthodontic check-up no later than age 7, and most early evaluations end with watch and wait. Space maintainers hold the spot when a baby tooth leaves too soon.
Ages 13 and up
Exams and cleanings every six months, with the same team your teenager already knows. Teenagers bring their own list: mouthguards for sport, grinding, and the sugary drinks enamel does not love.
Growth and alignment the whole way through. When the time is right for braces, comprehensive orthodontic care with Dr. Whitesides, our orthodontist, is offered at our Fort Myers office, and retainers keep the finished smile exactly where the braces left it.
What to expect
Check in, then let them loose under the whale shark and around the S.S. Flossy. By the time we call their name, the scary part is usually already gone.
Teeth counted out loud, everything narrated before it happens. Under three, it is a lap exam on you.
A hygienist clears what a toothbrush cannot reach and polishes with the ticklish spinning cup. If your child needs breaks, we take breaks.
A few minutes on habits at home, then the next visit goes on the calendar before you leave.
The doctors
Pediatric dentist and founder
In practice since 1992. University of Florida trained, and former Chief Resident in Pediatric Dentistry at UF Gainesville. Some of the parents in our chairs today were his patients in the 1990s.
Pediatric dentist
DMD and pediatric dentistry residency from Nova Southeastern University, dual trained in the United States and Canada.
General dentist · fluent in English and Spanish
Trained at the Institute of Medical Sciences of Havana, with an AEGD residency at NYU Langone Hospital.
Orthodontist
Over a decade of experience providing braces and retainers, offered at our Fort Myers office.
What families say
Public reviews families posted on Google and Healthgrades, shown word for word, with trims marked by ellipses. We never write, edit or purchase reviews.
I continue to be impressed with this dentist! We have been coming here since 2022. This most recent visit Ana, our dental hygienist was so wonderful with my 2 year old and 8 year old. She explained everything she was doing step by step and was patient and caring... Great choice for pediatric dentistry!
Dr Tim and his assistant Ms Gretel was great with my son, Ms Gretel is so patient and sweet and Dr Tim is a wonderful dentist and knows how to deal with autistic children like my son. Thank you so much.
Dr. Verwest was my dentist as a child and now my daughters dentist .. He is kind and handles children very well..
Melanie, Victoria, and Dr. Walia were AMAZING!!! Very attentive. Educated. Super sweet. Wonderful with my 4 children. 10/10 would recommend
Shown with the reviewer's public name and the platform they used, with only trims marked by ellipses for length. Search for Pediatric Dentistry of Florida on Google or Healthgrades to read every public review, unfiltered.
Parents ask us
1035 Piper Blvd, Suite 103, Naples, FL 34110, in North Naples just off Immokalee Road near the I-75 interchange. From the south end of town, US 41 runs north to Immokalee Road; turn east. From the interstate, take the Immokalee Road exit and head west. The office sits in a quiet plaza with parking outside the door, and the front desk will give you turn-by-turn help from your own starting point when you book.
There is no too young. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry puts the marker at the first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth, whichever comes sooner. Under age three, most visits are a gentle lap exam with you holding your child the whole time. If your child is well past that and has never been seen, book anyway. There is no late penalty here and no lecture waiting.
The full range of pediatric dental care happens in Naples: first visits, routine checkups, preventative care, repairs and the comfort menu. Growth and alignment are watched at every routine visit here. Comprehensive orthodontic care with Dr. Whitesides, our orthodontist, is offered at the Fort Myers office, and the two run as one practice on one phone number, so your child's history travels with them.
Three things, and none of them ask your child to be braver than they are. Arrive a few minutes early so the first thing that happens is exploring the S.S. Flossy rather than sitting still. Tell the front desk when you book: nervous kid, first visit ever, sensory sensitivities, parent staying in the room. And know that everything is explained before it happens, at your child's pace, with the whole comfort menu discussed with you first if treatment is ever needed.
Yes, with individualized plans: extra time, a calmer room, and the same patient team at every visit. For many children the winning strategy is a series of short, positive visits that each go one small step further. Tell us what works for your child when you call.
No. New patient forms arrive ahead of time, so you can finish them at your own kitchen table and the check-in on visit day takes moments. The only jobs left on arrival are checking in and looking up at the whale shark.
Those questions get real answers from the front desk on the phone, for your child's specific visit, rather than a guess from a website. Call and ask, and mention anything else that would help us prepare.
Find us
Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. One number reaches both offices.
How far is it from you?
Tap a neighborhood to see it on the map.
Straight-line miles from each place's center to the office, as the pelican flies. Drive times depend on the road and the hour.
Prefer a call back?
Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. Say when works for you and we take it from there.
The person who answers can actually answer things: which morning beats which afternoon, and which doctor fits your child.
(239) 482-2722Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. A real human answers.
