Dr. Judith Ragsdale, premier kid dentist, welcomes new addition to practice

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - When patients enter the office of Judith Ragsdale Pediatric Dentistry, they are greeted by statues of safari animals, whimsical wall decorations, and a game room complete with video games and a television. Children of all ages—infants, children, and teenagers—have been coming to see Dr. Judith Ragsdale, a pediatric dentist in The Woodlands, since 1986. Now, Dr. Ragsdale recently announced a new addition to her practice, Dr. Leslie Blackburn. Not only do the two dentists share a love for animals and psychology, they share a love for children and seeing their smiling faces at their office.

Focusing on quality care and excellent service, it is no wonder why Dr. Ragsdale and her staff have been serving the children in the community for 28 years. In fact, patients Dr. Ragsdale once saw as kids are now bringing their own children to her practice.

“I have been here long enough where my child patients that I saw when they were around 3 years of age in 1986 are grown up, and now they are bringing there own children in. I joke that I am a grand-dentist now,” laughed Dr. Ragsdale.

For Ragsdale, it was two specific moments during her childhood that inspired her to become a pediatric dentist. Needing a lot of dental work as a child, she spent many hours in the dentist’s chair and found an interest in what the dentist was doing.

“I had a great pediatric dentist and a great orthodontist, and so I just became fascinated by my experiences there,” said Dr. Ragsdale.

Then, in 7th grade, she had to give a speech about a particular career and so she went to her neighbor, who happened to be a general dentist, who only encouraged her even more to consider a career in dentistry.

“This was in the early 70’s when it wasn’t very common for women to have careers or work outside of the home,” said Dr. Ragsdale. “It inspired me to take that challenge on, and so that is what I did. I knew at 13 years of age exactly what I wanted to be: a pediatric dentist.”

Ragsdale never looked back, and after completing her dental degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental Branch at Houston, she went on to receive a certificate in pediatric dentistry along with a Master of Science in Dentistry from Baylor College of Dentistry. It was at Baylor where she happened to meet one of the partners at The Woodlands Dental Group, who, at the time, was looking for a pediatric dentist.

“When I walked into this facility I knew this is where I needed to be, and so I have been here ever since,” said Dr. Ragsdale.

Now, over 28 years later, Dr. Ragsdale only found it fitting that Dr. Blackburn join her practice this past September. Blackburn grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas, where she had always known she wanted a career that dealt with children: she just didn’t know what. After college, Blackburn had a job in the field of child psychology, but soon found that it wasn’t the right fit.

“I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to take,” said Dr. Blackburn. “I was really impressed with a dentist that I shadowed at the University of Pennsylvania. I decided that my love of kids and my love of helping them through difficult situations would be a perfect marriage with my love of doing things with my hands in pediatric dentistry.”

From there, Blackburn went back to school to receive her Doctorate of Dental Surgery along with a Master of Science and Dental Education at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. She then attended Yale University, receiving her certificate of Pediatric Dentistry earlier this year. When her husband’s job moved them Houston, Blackburn started looking at practices in the area.

“Dr. Ragsdale was the highest on my list, and The Woodlands was one of the top places I wanted to live. The rest is history,” said Dr. Blackburn.

Both dentists understand that a child’s first impression goes a long way, so they strive to make each child as comfortable as possible during their visit.

“We invest a lot of time and energy making sure that we do everything that we can do make a child’s experience here very positive,” said Dr. Ragsdale.

Both dentists try to make it a fun experience rather than just a treatment experience, while also stressing the importance of regular dentist visits, not only from a health standpoint, but a financial one as well.

Dr. Ragsdale and Dr. Blackburn were sure to note that the most rewarding part about their job was working with kids who are apprehensive about the dentist’s office at first, but that when they are able to turn them around, the kids soon don’t want to leave.

“We’ve even had kids who have requested to have their birthday parties here,” laughed Dr. Ragsdale.

Since Dr. Blackburn has joined the team in September, Dr. Ragsdale’s practice is now open Monday-Friday, and able to see more patients and better serve the community.

“We also get the benefit of somebody who has done this for a long time and somebody who is just out of school and knows all of the cutting-edge information,” said Dr. Ragsdale. “We really are fun people. We both just love kids and love the pediatric dentistry part of it. It is a great location, the atmosphere here is great, the décor is very child-friendly, and my staff is just phenomenal with kids.”

Judith Ragsdale Pediatric Dentistry of The Woodlands is located at 1001 Medical Plaza Drive, suite 350. For more information, visit the website link provided below, or call 281-367-8805.