image description
Drs. Muhammed Saif and Myra Jehangir want their young patients to feel safe and welcome at their pediatric dental practice.

New Practice Focuses on Dental Care for Children

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

Peak Smiles is located on Canal Street in Lee. 
LEE, Mass. — A new dental practice is focused solely on ensuring Berkshire County children have bright smiles.
 
Husband and wife duo Drs. Muhammed Saif and Myra Jehangir, both board-certified pediatric dentists, will open Peak Smiles Pediatric Dentistry on March 2. 
 
They had been working at a dental office in Chicopee when they realized many families were coming from the county to see them.
 
"We saw a vast majority of patients. And what we noticed pretty quickly was there was a huge need in the Berkshire County, because a lot of our patients were actually commuting from Pittsfield, North Adams, Great Barrington, to get to our office in Chicopee," Saif said.
 
They decided to open an office in Lee, feeling it was a middle point in the county for the patients they were seeing.
 
They obtained the space in June and began the transformation into a dental office. The only challenge was a plumbing issue that has since been fixed.
 
Saif trained at New York University's College of Dentistry and did his residencies at NYU Langone Dental Medicine and Johns Hopkins. Jehangir graduated from the University of Maryland, and did her residencies at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and NYU Langone Health in Holyoke. 
 
They currently practice in New York's Hudson Valley and live in Albany. They loved their time in Western Massachusetts and knew they would like to work here again.
 
"We did enjoy our time in Western Mass, which is why when this space opened up, my husband was really excited," Jehangir said. "Everything just worked out in our favor — the space was big enough, like we could put the seven chairs that we wanted — and then Massachusetts was just somewhere he really likes, so we wanted to be here." 
 
They are credentialed at Berkshire Medical Center and will be taking patients there once they have gained their footing.
 
"Once we get the systems down, we'll be scheduling patients to get, like, full-mouth dental treatment if they need it," Saif said. "If they're like, superanxious, they're superyoung, they have a lot of dental care needs in the hospital system. We'll be doing cases."
 
Saif has focused on innovative treatments for children and patients with special needs in his practice. He said he does his best to accommodate everyone and wants children to feel safe in his care.
 
"We're here to make sure that your child keeps smiling and has good oral care," the dentist said.
 
The practice is currently accepting patients, including walk-ins and emergencies. 
 
Hours will be every Monday and every other Saturday, with plans to expand later this summer. The office is located at 35 Canal St.
 
You can book appointments through the website.
 
Editor's note: an earlier version of this article mischaracterized the use of nitrous oxide, which is a safe and commonly used sedative used in pediatric dentistry.

Tags: new business,   dentist,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Great Barrington Unveils 9/11 Memorial Featuring World Trade Center Steel

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — A piece of history will now stand in front of the Great Barrington Fire Department, serving as a lasting reminder of the courage, sacrifice, and heroism of those who rushed in, stepped forward, and answered the call on Sept. 11, 2001.
 
Hundreds of community members gathered outside the Fire Department for the unveiling of a 9/11 memorial featuring a steel I-beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.
 
The monument marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, and its effect reached far and wide beyond New York, said Deputy Fire Chief James Mead.
 
"There are moments in our lives that become markers of time. Moments when we remember not only what happened, but where we were, who was beside us, and how the world somehow felt different afterwards," Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove said. 
 
"For those of us who experienced September 11, 2001 — it is one of those moments for us to share."
 
The acquisition of the beam was a multi-year effort initiated by the late Andy Moro, former commander of American Legion Post 298 in Housatonic, and was carried on by the Legion's second vice commander, John Morris. 
 
Morris said he was able to obtain the warped steel I-beam through connections he made during his time as a New York City firefighter.
 
View Full Story

More South Berkshire Stories