Dr. Gerald Ferretti is Professor and Chair of the Pediatric Dentistry Department and Chief of Dentistry at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital at Irving & Jeanne Tapper Pediatric Dental Center, which specializes in the care of children with acute or chronic healthcare needs.
Dr. Ferretti is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and has more than 30 years of practice, teaching, and research experience. His special interests include oral manifestations of pediatric oncology therapy, early childhood caries intervention, oral health education for the medical workforce, and health services management research.
Pediatric dentistry focuses on patients from birth through 16 years of age. We want your child to have the most positive dental experience we can provide. Our faculty, residents and staff are specially trained in working with children and their families and our dental students are taught to provide dental services to children. Together, we strive to provide an atmosphere that is friendly and supportive to our child patients and their families.
Pediatric Dentistry Symposium 2023
Held on Oct. 21, this annual symposium focused on preventive and interceptive dental care for children and individuals with special needs. Attending virtually or in person, participants earned 6 CE credits.
Learn more about this year's symposium
Children's Clinic
Early intervention is the most important factor in dentistry. Our Pediatric Dental Clinic focuses on patients from birth through age 16. A child is not healthy if his or her mouth is not healthy. Dental disease can be extremely painful and costly if it is not treated, and may lead to other serious lifelong health problems. We want your child to have the most positive dental experience we can provide. Learn about the Children's Clinic.
Headstart Outreach Program
This service is targeted to every child in our community who has not seen a dentist in the last six months. Having partnered with Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine is taking the lead to fight against early childhood cavities, the number one chronic infectious disease in children in America. Read about how the Headstart program impacts the children in the Cleveland Community.
Healthy Smiles Sealant Program
The purpose of the Healthy Smiles Sealant Program is to provide high quality oral health education, examinations, preventive services (dental sealants) and referrals for children in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) while exposing dental students to the needs of under-served children and the communities in which they live.
Temporary clinics are set up at each CMSD elementary school, where pre-doctoral dental students perform dental exams and apply sealants to children in grades 2, 3 and 6. Children with cavities have the cavity-free teeth sealed and are referred by our program coordinator to a community dentist or a safety-net provider for treatment of the diseased teeth. Prior to treatment, health educators visit the schools to teach children about general health care, oral health care, and nutritional health. Lesson plans for teachers are provided monthly to reinforce the message conveyed by the health educators. Learn about the Sealant Program.