Name of business: Forever Smiles Turlock

Type of business: Dental office

Location: 1850 Colorado Ave., Turlock

Hours: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; Closed Thursday, Friday and Sunday

Contact information: 209-500-1234

Specialty: Kid-friendly environment

History of business:

After practicing dentistry in areas throughout the Central Valley over the last five years, Dr. Jasleen Kaur decided that to ensure her patients the type of care she believed they deserved, she would have to open her own office. Six months ago, that decision became a reality when Forever Smiles Turlock began serving the community.

“I was working with other people but I couldn’t always do things with my patients how I wanted to do them,” Kaur said. “I wanted to make a fun environment, so I decided to have my own office.”

Fun is to be had the moment you walk through the doors at Forever Smiles, with video games, television and a stocked fridge meant to ease any anxiety felt by kids and adults alike, all complimented by a calming blue color scheme.

“I wanted to make it comfortable for kids and help make them not anxious,” Kaur said. “We don’t cut corners — we do everything we can to make our patients comfortable.”

From amenities like a hot towel or a comfy blanket to the latest technology, such as x-rays, Kaur holds her office to high standards, she said. She holds herself to those standards too, currently working towards achieving her fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry, an honor bestowed upon just seven percent of General Dentists in the U.S.

Kaur also enjoys giving back to the community she works in, and on Saturday hosted a “Give Kids a Smile” event, providing dentistry free of charge to children age 12 and under.

“The reason I wanted to be in the dental field was of course to help people, and then that feeling of happiness from getting people out of pain and giving them a pretty smile. Seeing how they look at it and are ecstatic, that’s such a happy feeling,” Kaur said. “We do this event so parents that can’t afford treatment for their children can come to a place where they feel safe and can be out of pain.”

Forever Smiles offers all dental services, including implants and oral cancer screenings. Kaur prides herself in being one of the few women to graduate from her class at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, she said, and said that as time passes, more and more women are entering the field.

“A lot of people higher up in the field are male dentists, and we’re trying to change that,” Kaur said. “We have a more nurturing outlook, we are compassionate — not that men aren’t — and it’s that extra sensitive touch we have that makes a difference.”