DR. LORI BARBEAU FILLING A NEED

Staff and patientS singing together. Children cuddling teddy bears they brought from home. What kind of dental office is this?

A darn good one.

The Children’s Dental Center of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is a cheerful, welcoming place, from its brightly colored waiting room to its patient-friendly, open treatment space. The Center – which has four clinics throughout Milwaukee – is led by medical director Dr. Lori Barbeau, “Dr. Lori” to her patients.

Because nearly 40 percent of the Center’s patient base has special needs – physical, cognitive and/or emotional – the staff must devise creative approaches to treatment. For an anxious or fearful child, for example, the first two visits might be spent without treatment at all, just acclimating the child and helping him or her feel relaxed with familiar songs and toys. If a child uses a customized wheelchair, the staff tips it back to provide treatment. “It works best to keep children in their most comfortable setting rather than force them into what works best for us,” says Barbeau.

“We call Lori the ‘Child Whisperer,’” says Dr. Michael Melugin, director of orthodontics at Children’s. “She is a gifted clinician who can get a child through an appointment when no one else can.”

Short and vivacious, Barbeau, 56, moves comfortably around the clinic in T-shirt, scrub pants and tennies. She and her team have a passion for serving the Center’s medically underserved patient base, approximately 93 percent of whom are on Medicaid. “We are a safety net in the community by providing care for children who wouldn’t have other options,” she says.

She is program director of the nationally recognized Pediatric Dental Residency Program, which accepts four graduate dentists each year for a two-year training program in pediatric dentistry.

Perhaps most gratifying for her is seeing a child’s life turned around with proper dental care. The staff operates five days a week on children as young as a year old, some of whom have as many as 15 cavities. “After we provide restorative care, parents report that their children are eating better, sleeping better, not so crabby all the time,” says Barbeau. “It’s like they have a new kid.” –