Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake

P A S C A C K V A L L E Y ’ S H O M E T O W N N E W S P A P E RVOLUME 21 ISSUE 6 APRIL 24, 2017

Thereʼs no better place toimprove your child s̓ dental healththan at Chestnut Ridge PediatricDental in Woodcliff Lake.

Pediatric Dentist Dr. Eli Rach-lin, or Dr. Eli, as his patients refer tohim, opened Chestnut Ridge Pedi-atric Dental in 2007. Theoffice is dedicated to optimizing theoral health of children of all ages,including those with special needs.Aside from being under the care ofan excellent, gentle dentist, patientshave no choice but to feel comfort-able in Dr. Eli s̓ office.

The reception area is like a sto-rybook wonderland, and eachexamination room is bright andcheerful and contains an overheadflat screen TV that shifts to accom-modate any angle so that while inthe chair, children can watch andpreoccupy themselves. This com-fortable and friendly office environ-ment is a reflection of Dr. Rachlin s̓attitude and positive approach todentistry. But in addition to beingfun and bright, the office is alsostate of the art. “Dr. Eli” makes bestuse out of the latest, most effectivetechnologies that make his job andhis patient s̓ experience better allaround. One example is air abra-sion, which is a painless method toremove cavities that frequentlyreduces the need for a drill. Anothergood example is the soft-tissuelaser, which provides a patient withoptimal comfort if soft-tissue sur-gery is needed.

Dr. Rachlin s̓ intra-oral camerais a specialized miniature videocamera that enables patients andparents to see their teeth up close.This allows patients and parents toparticipate more fully in under-

standing their mouths and teeth.As if the high-tech equipment

isnʼt enough, the office is environ-mentally friendly. Chestnut RidgePediatric Dental is proud to bealmost paperless, meaning mostevery document, including X-rays,is digital. This is better for the envi-ronment, and also allows bettercommunication with patients andparents.

Hygienist Jazmin Norman,who joined Dr. Rachlin s̓ team in2016, loves working with children,and her enthusiasm and dedicationcomplements the office well.

Each year during DentalHealth Month, Rachlin and his staff

make special visits to local schoolsand day care centers to talk aboutdental hygiene and healthy foodchoices with students. During therest of the year he enjoys being anactive member of the community,and participates in health fairs.

Rachlin graduated dentalschool in 1996 from the Universityof Toronto in Canada, where hegrew up. There, he was awarded theprestigious Student LeadershipAward due to his volunteer workwith special-needs children andthose with life-threatening illness-es. After dental school, he moved tothe tri-state area to complete a fel-lowship in advanced dentistry at

Columbia University. Following thefellowship, Dr. Rachlin completeda residency in hospital dentistry atMontefiore Medical Center andJacobi Hospital and completed hisspecialty training in Pediatric Den-tistry at Montefiore Medical Center.

“I knew I wanted to work withkids before I knew I wanted to be adentist,” says Rachlin, who was acounselor and leader of a division ata camp for children with cancer andother diseases from 1991 to 1995.

He also volunteered for anorganization that chaperoned sickchildren to Disney World, and wasa participant in the Big Brother pro-gram. Even while attending dental

school, Rachlin ran Child LifeServices in the oncology/hematol-ogy floor at The Hospital for SickChildren (Toronto) on weekends.He also held the title of student cli-nician for Alpha Omega dental fra-ternity, arranging seminars atwhich leading area dentists pro-vided advanced instruction to den-tal students.

Dr. Rachlin is a board-certi-fied diplomate of the AmericanBoard of Pediatric Dentistry. He isalso a fellow of the AmericanAcademy of Pediatric Dentistryand an active member of theAmerican Dental Association andthe New Jersey Dental Associa-tion. Of course, he loves being apediatric dentist, but above allthings, he loves seeing kids smile.And smile they do, as one can seeon the “What Kids Say” section ofthe officeʼs website (CRKid-steeth.com), where Rachlin happi-ly displays some of the artworkcreated for him by his patients.

Rachlin and his wife Gila willbe celebrating their 20th weddinganniversary this May. Gila is aspeech therapist at Hillside Ele-mentary in Closter. Her work withchildren was prominently featuredin an article in The Parent Paper.Eli and Gila have two daughtersand two sons, ranging in age from6 to 18 years old.

Chestnut Ridge PediatricDental is located at 595 ChestnutRidge Road in Woodcliff Lake.For more information, or even apicture tour of the office, visitwww.CRKidsteeth.com. Call(201) 391-4441 to schedule anappointment.

Pediatric dentist loves seeing children smileWOODCLIFF LAKE

Dr. Rachlin, center, is joined by dental assistant Dahiana, dental hygienist Jazmin and patientcare coordinator Debbie.