Bermuda's newest privately practising paediatric dentist.

Dr. Janie Brown moved from the Health Department to the Bermudiana Dental Group on September 1. As her title suggests, all of her patients are children between the ages of one and 18.

Dr. Brown believes that kids should enjoy their trips to the dentist instead of seeing them as trips to a kind of torture chamber.

In keeping with this she endeavours to help her patients to laugh and have fun when faced with the generally unappealing sights and sounds of needles and drills.

The waiting room of her office is filled with toys, games and funny masks to lessen the sense of anxiety that may build up inside the minds of of her young patients.

Dr. Brown said that her job was made all the more fascinating by the very fact that the kids have such a good time.

"My experiences so far with patients have been really interesting and funny,'' she said.

When asked how she got started, Dr. Brown explained that her "origins were not geared to working with children''.

She said: "I was training to be a regular dentist when my mentor asked me what field I would like to work in.

"I decided that I wasn't that crazy about working with adults and that really narrowed my options down.

"Finally I decided that, since I was quite good with kids, I would go into paediatrics.'' The philosophy Dr. Brown has developed during her four years as a dentist is that "children need to be made to feel that they're in control.

"That's why, when a child comes in for a check-up, I do a sort of show and tell where I explain what all the instruments are and what they do.'' The idea is that, if the patient feels that they are in the know about what's going on, the sense of anxiety and fear is lessened.

Asked how she handled situations that involved considerable pain, Dr. Brown said: "A lot of the anxiety that comes from certain operations doesn't come from the fact that they are truly that painful but more from the fact that the whole experience is scary.'' The way she combats this is simply by making the experience into a fun one which the youngster can understand and identify.

"I do things like tell them they're going to be drinking some sleepy water and that they're mouths are going go fast asleep and snore.'' Dr. Brown said her understanding of the way kids think has been and will be helped by the fact that she has a son, nine-month-old Harrison.

Originally from the United States, the paediatric dentist studied at Tufts Dental School and University of Medical Dentistry of New Jersey.

Of her experiences of practising in Bermuda, Dr. Brown said: "I really like it here. It's a small community so it's easy to get messages out and about.'' She added: "While I did enjoy working in the US a lot, I feel a bit more well known here and also that my services are very appreciated here.'' Some people who definitely do appreciate her, are, of course, the patients themselves. She sees them as much her friends as her patients.

She described the most rewarding aspect of having such a job as being "when you start off with someone who's a difficult patient and the way you treat them turns them into a good, happy patient''.

Asked if she wanted to put any message out to the public, Dr. Brown simply suggested that parents make sure their kids have regular check-ups "so they can avoid having to come and see me in an emergency''.

She added that her office is open on Saturdays "so that kids don't have to miss school in order to come along''.

Open Wide: Paediatric dentist Dr. Janie Brown examines her nine-month-old son, Harrison, at her new practice in Hamilton.