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Denta-Claus? Santa Floss? The Tooth Fairy?: Dental Books for Kids

In This Exhibit | About Dentists | About Teeth | Animals | Braces | Brushing Teeth | Dental Hygiene | Dentures | Halloween | Loose and Lost Teeth | Tooth Decay | Tooth Fairies Etc. | Toothache | Visiting the Dentist
This Exhibit Guide as a PDF [222K]

Many cultures have traditions associated with the child's loss of their first baby tooth, and the resulting growth of the first adult tooth, such as the Tooth Fairy so popular in American culture. Likewise, the profession of dentistry learned early on that the most effective education about oral hygiene and care was that directed to children, and the earlier the better. Thus, it should be no surprise to find a long history of books for children about dentistry and issues related to dentistry. Books for children about dental issues are written both for education, from the perspective of the profession, and as entertainment, which may or may not accurately reflect what the dental profession might prefer to have said.

As a dental professional working with children or parents, it can be handy to have a little familiarity with some of the available literature for children ­ to know which books you like to recommend, or to know how the profession is typically presented to children. When reviewing children's literature, or discussing one of the following books with a child, here are a few question you might wish to have in mind.

  • How are dentistry, the profession and its techniques, presented in this book?
  • Is the message about dentistry and the profession the same at the end of the book as in the beginning?
  • How would you endorse or reinforce this message, or how would you respond to the issues raised by this message?
  • Would you recommend this book to a young patient? What about this book would interest the young patient (pictures, humor, story, clever or creative use of language, a character like them)?
  • What sort of patient might find this book interesting or appealing?
  • What other books might you recommend with this book or instead of this book?

Children's dental books are written for all ages, and in a wide variety of styles and topics. Some of the most popular topics include the following.

  • About Dentists and Their Lives
  • About Teeth
  • Animals
  • Braces
  • Brushing Teeth
  • Dental Hygiene and Care
  • Dentures and False Teeth
  • Halloween
  • Loose and Lost Teeth
  • Tooth Decay
  • Tooth Fairies, Witches and Similar Creatures
  • Toothache
  • Visiting the Dentist's Office
More information on these topics is included in the book lists below. In this library, children's books are usually found under the following call number areas.
  • PS 6000-6999
  • PZ
  • RK 63

In This Exhibit

  • Ambrus, Victor G. What Time Is It, Dracula? NY: Crown Publishers. 1992. PZ 7 .A498 1992
  • Lasky, Kathryn. Science Fair Bunnies. Cambridge MA: Candlewick Press, 2000. PS 3562 .A815 S2 2000.
  • Faulkner, Keith. The Mixed-up Tooth Fairy. NY: Scholastic, 2002. PS 3556 .A79 2002.
  • Maconie, Robin. Alice and Her Fabulous Teeth. San Rafael, CA: Cedco Publishing, 2000. PS 3563 .A227 A4 2000.
  • Thaler, Mike. Fang the Dentist. Mahwah NJ: Troll Associates, 1994. PZ 7 .T349 1994.
  • Simms, Laura. Rotten Teeth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. PZ 7 .S594 1998.
  • Keller, Laurie. Open Wide, Tooth School Inside. NY: Henry Holt, 2000. RK 63 .K441 2000.
  • Gillerlain, Gayle. Reverend Thomas's False Teeth. Mahwah, NJ: Bridgewater Books, 1995. PS 3557 .I283 R48 1995.
  • Greenburg, Dan. Dr. Jekyll, Orthodontist. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1997. PS 3557 .R35 D7 1997.
  • Bouchard, Dave. Fairy. Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 2001. PS 3552 .O55 2001.
  • Sis, Peter. Madlenka. NY: Frances Foster Books, 2000. PS 3569 .S58 M2 2000.
  • Mellor, Corinne. Clark the Toothless Shark: A Pop-Up, Pull-Tab Book. NY: Western, 1994. PS 3563 .E435 C5 1994.
  • McPhail, David. The Bear's Toothache. Boston: Little, Brown, 1972. PS 3563 .A2294 1972.
  • Van Allsburg, Chris. The Sweetest Fig. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. PS 3543 .A2515 S9 1993.

About Dentists and Their Lives

Books about dentists and their lives (and the lives of their children!) include stories to personalize the dentist and bring insight into the lives of the dentist as a normal person, and also often seek to teach more about what a dentist or dentist's office is really like. Rotten Teeth is a book about a dentist's child who raids her father's office in order to bring something truly impressive to school for show-and-tell. The Sweetest Fig, from the author/illustrator of Jumanji, tells the story of the Œdark side' of dentistry, with a greedy dentist who learns a hard lesson about what is important in life.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Simms, Laura. Rotten Teeth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. PZ 7 .S594 1998.
  • Exhibit Highlight: Van Allsburg, Chris. The Sweetest Fig. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. PS 3543 .A2515 S9 1993.

  • Barnett, Naomi. I Know a Dentist. NY: Putnam. 1977. Dent. RK 63 .B361 1977.
  • Barr, George. Young Scientist and the Dentist. NY: McGraw-Hill. 1970. RK 63 .B27 1970.
  • Desantis, Kenny. A Dentist's Tools. NY: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1988. RK 63 .D471 1988.
  • Lapp, Carolyn; Overlie, George. Dentist's Tools. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications. Revised, 1973, 1983. RK 63 .L316.
  • Mahy, Margaret; Smith, Wendy. The Dentist's Promise. Norwood, S Aust: Omnibus. 1991. PZ M2135 1991.
  • Merrill, Jean. The Toothpaste Millionaire. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1972. PS 3563 .E67 T6 1972.
  • Ready, Dee. Dentists. Mankato, Minnesota: Bridgestone Books. 1998. RK 63 .R43 1998.
  • Schaefer, Lola M. We Need Dentists. Mankato, Minnesota: Pebble Books. 2000. RK 63 .S2971 2000.
  • Shay, Arthur. What It's Like to Be a Dentist. Chicago: Reilly & Lee Books. 1972. Dental RK 63 .S54.

About Teeth

Open Wide, Tooth School Inside is one of the best children's dental books today. With engaging illustrations, clever and creative dialogue, it discusses virtually every topic in dentistry a child would need to know, and many others, in a way that engages interest and amuses. The Mixed-Up Tooth Fairy, while nominally about the Tooth Fairy, actually describes different types of animal teeth and the function served by these many different types of teeth. Understanding why teeth work the way they do, or why the structure of teeth is so effective for what teeth do, are some of the more fascinating discussions in some of the books listed below.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Faulkner, Keith. The Mixed-up Tooth Fairy. NY: Scholastic, 2002. PS 3556 .A79 2002.
  • Exhibit Highlight: Keller, Laurie. Open Wide, Tooth School Inside. NY: Henry Holt, 2000. RK 63 .K441 2000.

  • Ammann, Alexander. Der Tag des Zahnes, oder, Die drei goldenen Regeln fur schone, gesunde Zahnes: ein Marchen fur Kinder. Berlin: Quintessenz. 1980. RK 63 .A518x 1980.
  • Bohonek, Jan; Barton, Stan. How Peter Molar Looked for a Smile. Cleveland, Ohio: Adonis Studio. 1983. RK63 .B67x 1983.
  • Frost, Helen. Your Teeth. Mankato, Minnesota: Pebble Books. 1999. RK 63 .F761 1999.
  • Halford, Sandra. Teeth. Loughborough: Ladybird Books. 1978. RK 63 .H169 1978.
  • Hammond, Winifred G. The Riddle of Teeth. NY: Coward, McCann & Geophegan. 1971. RK 63 .H23 1971.
  • LeSieg, Theo (Dr. Seuss). The Tooth Book. NY: Beginner Books. 1981. RK63 .S496.
  • Showers, Paul. How Many Teeth? NY: Crowell. 1962. RK 63 .S56.
  • Swift, Mildred. Happy Teeth: or, How to Keep Your Teeth Happy. Minneapolis: T.S. Denison. 1977. RK63 .S941.

Animals

Animals are often used in children's literature as ways for a child to identify with the main character, without needing to address issues of gender, age or ethnic group. The Doctor De Soto books, in which a brilliant mouse is a dentist, are probably the best-known animal character in dental children's books. In children's dental literature, animals are also used as, well, animals! There are many discussions of how a pet or zoo animal might have teeth similar or different from our own, and why.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Mellor, Corinne. Clark the Toothless Shark: A Pop-Up, Pull-Tab Book. NY: Western, 1994. PS 3563 .E435 C5 1994.
  • Exhibit Highlight: Faulkner, Keith. The Mixed-up Tooth Fairy. NY: Scholastic, 2002. PS 3556 .A79 2002.

  • Fowler, Allan. A Look at Teeth. NY: Children's Press. 1999. RK 63 .F691 1999.
  • Gomi, Taro. The Crocodile and the Dentist. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. 1994. PZ 7 .G63 1994.
  • Grohman, Almute. Dragon Teeth and Parrot Beaks -- even Creatures Brush Their Teeth. Chicago: Quintessence Publications. RK 63 .G7613 1997. 1997.
  • Halford, Sandra. Teeth. Loughborough: Ladybird Books. 1978. RK 63 .H169 1978.
  • Irvine, Abby. Len Lion's Wobbly Tooth. London: Tango. 2001. PS 3559 .R95 2001.
  • Langreuter, Jutta and Vera Sobat. Little Bear Brushes His Teeth. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. 1997. PS 3562 .A59 K53 1997.
  • Peele, Michael A. The Lion Who Wouldn't Brush his Teeth. Pittsboro, North Carolina: Dental Publications. 1981. RK63 .P74.
  • Sandow, Paris. The Bird Who was Afraid to Clean the Crocodile's Teeth. Marina del Rey, California: Imperius. 1999, © 1994. PS 3569 .S36 1999.
  • Steig, William. Doctor De Soto Goes To Africa. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. 1992. PZ 7 .S8192 1992.
  • Steig, William. Doctor De Soto. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1982. PZ 7 .S819 1982.
  • Watts, Marjorie-Ann. Crocodile Teeth, or Crocodile Goes to the Dentist. London: Andre Deutsch. 1986. RK 63 .W35 1986.

Braces

There are not as many children's books on braces and orthodontia as one might expect. In the exhibit highlight for this topic, Dan Greenburg's Dr. Jekyll, Orthodontist, the cover looks scary, but the dentist turns out to be a good guy after all.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Greenburg, Dan. Dr. Jekyll, Orthodontist. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1997. PS 3557 .R35 D7 1997.

  • Giff, Patricia Reilly. Rat Teeth. NY: Dell Publications. 1990, ©1984. PZ 7 .G4594 1985.
  • Richter, Alice and Laura Joffe Numeroff. You Can't Put Braces on Spaces. NY: Greenwillow Books. 1979. RK63 .R535.
  • Zalben, Jane Breskin. Buster Gets Braces. NY: H. Holt and Company. 1992. PZ 7 .Z17 1992.

Brushing Teeth

Robin Maconie's book, Alice and Her Fabulous Teeth, has a certain Œwonderland' flair to it, with dynamic pictures and well-crafted rhymes supporting a clever story in which Alice's lost tooth fetches a top price at the tooth fairy auction, because she brushed her teeth so well beforehand. Kate Rowan's I Know Why I Brush My Teeth has more than a visual similarity to the excellent Open Wide, Tooth School Inside. Both books have engaging contemporary illustrations combined with high quality accurate information presented in a way that a child can identify with.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Maconie, Robin. Alice and Her Fabulous Teeth. San Rafael, CA: Cedco Publishing, 2000. PS 3563 .A227 A4 2000.
  • Recommended: Rowan, Kate. I Know Why I Brush My Teeth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. 1999. RK 63 .R691 1999.

  • Asimov, Isaac. Why Do We Need to Brush Our Teeth? Milwaukee: G. Stevens Publications. 1993. RK 63 .A781 1993.
  • Frost, Helen. Brushing Well. Mankato, Minnesota: Pebble Books. 1999. RK 63 .F751 1999.
  • Kessler, Ethel; Kessler, Leonard. Our Tooth Story: A Tale of Twenty Teeth. NY: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1972. RK 63 .K42.
  • Langreuter, Jutta and Vera Sobat. Little Bear Brushes His Teeth. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. 1997. PS 3562 .A59 K53 1997.
  • Peele, Michael A. The Lion Who Wouldn't Brush his Teeth. Pittsboro, North Carolina: Dental Publications. 1981. RK63 .P74.
  • Rowan, Kate. I Know Why I Brush My Teeth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. 1999. RK 63 .R691 1999.
  • Vogel, Elizabeth. Brushing My Teeth. NY: PowerKids Press. 2001. RK 63 .V641 2001.

Dental Hygiene and Care

Open Wide, Tooth School Inside describes mouth and tooth anatomy, the process of decay and prevention, and many other core dental concepts, but in such an entertaining way that parents as well as children will be intrigued and delighted.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Keller, Laurie. Open Wide, Tooth School Inside. NY: Henry Holt, 2000. RK 63 .K441 2000.

  • American Society of Dentistry for Children. The Fun Book of Smiles. Chicago, Illinois: The Society. 1978. RK 63 .F95x 1978.
  • Andreasen, Frances M. O. Clast and The Bros. Blast. Fribourg, Switzerland: Mediglobe. 1988. RK 63 .A54 1988.
  • Barrowes, Dee Ann Earl. Flip or Flop. Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Dental Association. 1981. RK 63 .B29.
  • Davis, H Colin. Your Mouth is a Living Machine. London: Oral Hygiene Service. 1971. RK 63 .D26.
  • Doss, Helen; Wells, Richard L. All the Better to Bite With. NY: J. Messner. 1978, © 1976. RK 63 .D671.
  • Friedman, Albert W. The Tooth of It All. Fullerton, California: Oranark. 1977. RK 63 .F912 1977.
  • McGinty, Alice B. Staying Healthy: Dental Care. NY: PowerKids Press. 1997. RK 63 .M391 1997.
  • Rose, Gwen. Mother Goose Talks about Teeth. Phoenix, Arizona: Semantodontics of Phoenix. 1976. RK 63 .R79.
  • Stewart, Anne. The Dentist. London: Hamish Hamilton. 1986. RK 63 .S7411 1986.
  • The Tooth Survival Book. Chicago: American Dental Association. 1977. RK 63 .T661.
  • Ward, Brian. Dental Care. London: Watts. 1986. RK 63 .W26 1986.
  • Wheeler, Robert and William Barrett Morris. It's Your Smile. Dallas: W M Inc. 1972. RK 63 .M87.
  • Wilkin, Refna. Dental Health, a First Book. NY: Watts. 1976. RK 63 .W541.

Dentures and False Teeth

Whose teeth do children notice when they aren't losing their own? Their grandparents, naturally. In Grandpa's Teeth, his smile is so lovely that everyone wants it for their own, from his grandchildren to the dog and fish, with his dentures going on quite an adventure while Grandpa sleeps. In George Washington's Teeth, the connection between dentistry and the founding of our country is made clear in a riveting way, including why George Washington looks the way he does in portraits. In the exhibit case, you see Reverend Thomas's False Teeth, in which the Reverend loses his teeth in the lake at a picnic, and after several adults fail to retrieve them, a little girl fishes them out with a piece of the fried chicken the Reverend says his teeth love so much.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Gillerlain, Gayle. Reverend Thomas's False Teeth. Mahwah, NJ: Bridgewater Books, 1995. PS 3557 .I283 R48 1995.

  • Chandra, Deborah; Comora, Madeleine. George Washington's Teeth. NY: Farrar Straus Giroux. 2003. E 312.66 .C481 2003.
  • Clement, Rod. Grandpa's Teeth. NY: HarperCollins. 1998. DENT PS 3553 .L49 G7 1998.
  • Walden, Joseph. Grandpa's Smile. Nashville, Tennessee: Ideals Childrens Books. 1999. PS 3573 .A355 G7 1999.
  • Walsh, Alice. Uncle Farley's False Teeth. Toronto: Annick Press. 1998. PS 3573 .A445 US 1998.

Halloween

Vampires, skeletons, werewolves Š Halloween is just a toothy time of year, isn't it?

  • Exhibit Highlight: Ambrus, Victor G. What Time Is It, Dracula? NY: Crown Publishers. 1992. PZ 7 .A498 1992

  • Wolff, Ferida; Kozielski, Dolores. The Toothless Vampire and 99 other Howl-oween Riddles. NY: Scholastic, 1992. ON ORDER.

Loose and Lost Teeth

Children might be surprised when they lose their first tooth before anyone else they know, or feel left out when it seems they are the last one to lose a tooth. Those are common themes in this topic area. Wiggly, Jiggly, Joggly Tooth describes the vivid sensations of playing with the loose tooth with your tongue. The Mango Tooth tells the story of a girl who names her teeth after what she was eating when she lost the tooth. Madlenka tells the story of a young girl who has her first loose tooth. Excited, she walks around her block in New York City to tell all her neighbors, all of whom are from a different part of the world and have something to reveal about their culture and traditions. Science Fair Bunnies, for somewhat older children, tells about children collecting donations of lost teeth from other children for a science fair project. Instead of giving the teeth to the Tooth Fairy, they soak them in various colored beverages, "for science."

  • Exhibit Highlight: Lasky, Kathryn. Science Fair Bunnies. Cambridge MA: Candlewick Press, 2000. PS 3562 .A815 S2 2000.
  • Exhibit Highlight: Sis, Peter. Madlenka. NY: Frances Foster Books, 2000. PS 3569 .S58 M2 2000.

  • Birdseye, Tom. Airmail to the Moon. NY: Trumpet Club. 1988. PS 3552 .I7 A2 1988.
  • Brown, Marc. Arthur's Tooth. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1985. PS 3552 .R012 A7 1985.
  • Bunting, Eve. Trouble on the T-Ball Team. NY: Clarion Books. 1997. PS 3552 .U55 T7 1997.
  • Falwell, Cathryn. Dragon Tooth. NY: Clarion Books. 1996. PS 3556 .A37 D7 1996.
  • Hawley, Bill. A Wiggly, Jiggly, Joggly Tooth. Glenview, Illinois: GooYearBooks. 1994. PS 3558 .A826 WS 1994.
  • Hoban, Lillian. Arthur's Loose Tooth. NY: Harper and Row. 1985. PZ 7 .H6844 1985.
  • Irvine, Abby. Len Lion's Wobbly Tooth. London: Tango. 2001. PS 3559 .R95 2001.
  • Jensen, Patsy. Loose-Tooth Luke. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. 1998. PS 3560 .E57 1998.
  • Johnson-Petrov, Arden. The Lost Tooth Club. Berkley, California: Tricycle Press. 1998. PS 3560 .O395 L6 1998.
  • MacDonald, Amy. Cousin Ruth's Tooth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1996. PZ 8.3 .M123 1996.
  • Macdonald, Marrann. Rosie's Baby Tooth. NY: Atheneun, 1991. PZ 7 .M1355 1991.
  • Pomerantz, Charlotte. The Mango Tooth. NY: Greenwillow Books. 1977. RK 63 .P785.

Tooth Decay

Tooth decay, what causes it, and how to prevent it, has to be one of the most challenging topics in dental children's literature. The most informative books are usually not the most entertaining, and the reverse. Open Wide, Tooth School Inside does a great job with this, while covering several other topics at the same time. Rotten Teeth is not overtly about why we have rotten teeth or what to do about it, but certainly makes it clear that they are unpleasant items!

  • Exhibit Highlight: Keller, Laurie. Open Wide, Tooth School Inside. NY: Henry Holt, 2000. RK 63 .K441 2000.
  • Exhibit Highlight: Simms, Laura. Rotten Teeth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. PZ 7 .S594 1998.

  • Christensen, Lynda Love. Lil The Lollipop Dragon. Salt Lake City: published with the cooperation of the Utah State Dental Association, Utah State Dental Auxiliary and Utah State Dental Health Committees for Dental Health Education. 1976. RK 63 .C55 1976.
  • Katz, Bobbi. Make Way for Tooth Decay. NY: Scholastic Books. 1999. RK 63 .K381 1999.
  • Rice, Judith Anne. Those Icky Sticky Smelly Cavity-Causing but Š Invisible Germs. St. Paul, Minnesota: Redleaf Press distributed by Gryphon House. 1997. RK 63 .R531 1997.

Tooth Fairies, Witches, and Similar Creatures

The Tooth Fairy is one of the most popular topics in dental children's literature, and one of the most diverse. The tooth fairy herself is presented in a wide variety of personae, and a common theme are attempts to cheat the tooth fairy (or for the tooth fairy to cheat the child). In No Tooth, No Quarter, the tooth fairies go to school (in Queen Denteena's land) and are graded on their ability to spot a fake. Nora Bone and the Tooth Fairy also uses a comic book style to tell the story, in this case, a wild detective story complete with chase scene. In Dave Bouchard's book titled simply Fairy, the tooth fairy comes on a motorcycle as a biker chick with attitude, and you better not say you don't believe in faires! In Top Secret, the little creatures who take away lost teeth for mysterious purposes are not fairies, but mice. No, they won't tell you what they do with the teeth, any more than the tooth fairy would.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Bouchard, Dave. Fairy. Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 2001. PS 3552 .O55 2001.
  • Exhibit Highlight: Girling, Brough; Blundell, Tony. Nora Bone and the Tooth Fairy. London: A&C Black. 1995. PR 6057 .I62 1995.
  • Recommended: Dewan, Ted. Top Secret. NY: Doubleday. 1997. PS 3554 .E93 T6 1997.

  • Bourgeois, Paulette; Clark, Brenda. Franklin and the Tooth Fairy. Toronto: Kids Can Press. 1995. PZ 7 .B77 1995.
  • Brown Marc Tolon. Arthur Tricks The Tooth Fairy. NY: Random House. 1997. PS 3552 .R812 A72 1997. PS 3552 .R812 A72 1997.
  • Buller, Jon; Schade, Susan. No Tooth, No Quarter! NY: Random House. 1989. PZ 7 .B93656 1989.
  • Butler, Dori Hillestad. The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off. Minneapolis: Fairview Press. 1997. PZ 7 .B982 1997.
  • Christiana, David. A Tooth Fairy's Tale. NY: Farrar Straus Giroux. 1994. . RK 63 .C57 1994.
  • Feagles, Anita. The Tooth Fairy. Reading, Massachusetts: Young Scott. 1962. RK 63 .F288.
  • Holtzman, Caren. A Quarter from the Tooth Fairy. NY: Scholastic. 1995. PS 3558 .O394 Z2 1995.
  • Karlin, Nurit. The Tooth Witch. NY: Lippincott. 1985. PZ 7 .K19 1985.
  • Lipniacka, Eva and Basia Bogdanowicz. Tooth Fairy. (Jamie and Luke) NY: Crocodile Books, USA. 1992. PZ 7 .L763 1992.
  • Olson. Mary W. Nice Try, Tooth Fairy. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 1999. PS 3565 .L83 N5 1999.
  • Park, W.B. Jonathan's Friends. NY: Putnam. 1977. PZ 7 .P236.
  • Paxton, Tom. The Story of the Tooth Fairy. NY: Morrow Junior Books. 1996. PZ 7 .P349 1996.
  • Ray, Karen. The T.F. Letters. NY: DK Publications. 1998. PS 3568 .A932 T2 1998.
  • Schulte-DeWit. Zub the Tooth Fairy. Fort Collins, Colorado: Robinson Press. 1982. RK 63 .S39 1982.
  • Thaler, Mike. The Bully Brothers Trick The Tooth Fairy. NY: Grosset and Dunlap. 1993. PZ 7 .T348 1993.

Toothache

David McPhail's book, The Bear's Toothache, is a tender story of a very small child nurturing a very large bear in pain.

  • Exhibit Highlight: McPhail, David. The Bear's Toothache. Boston: Little, Brown, 1972. PS 3563 .A2294 1972.

  • Martin, Ann M. Karen's Toothache. (Baby Sitters Club, Little Sister #43) NY: Scholastic Inc. 1993. PS 3563 .A798 K2 1993.
  • Williams, Barbara. Albert's Toothache. NY: E.P. Dutton. 1977, © 1974. RK63 .W722.

Visiting the Dentist's Office

This is one of the most common topics in children's dental literature. Actually, it deserves it's own sub-topic ­ famous characters from children's series or cartoons who visit the dentist. There is a wide range of quality throughout the books in this topic. There are some that are both accurate and highly entertaining, however there are also many that fail at one or both of these.

Mike Thaler is known for his amusing stories presenting persons in roles that can cause anxiety in young children, exploring the assumptions or misperceptions which can cause that anxiety, and then revealing that there is nothing to be afraid of. His ³From the Black Lagoon² series includes librarians, principals, school nurses, gym teachers, custodians, bus drivers, and others. Fang the Dentist follows this model, exploring the child's dental anxiety and revealing the dentist as a kindly sort, after all.

Cranberry, Trip to the Dentist shows a big strong man, almost like a young Santa, who is afraid of going to the dentist, and showing how he overcomes his fear. Hercules Doesn't Pull Teeth, for the older reader, is a mystery novel in which a group of children try to explore the true identity of their local dentist, and along the way learn a little bit about the difference between Greek heroes and dentists.

  • Exhibit Highlight: Thaler, Mike. Fang the Dentist. Mahwah NJ: Troll Associates, 1994. PZ 7 .T349 1994.
  • Recommended: Dadey, Debbie. Hercules Doesn't Pull Teeth. NY: Scholastic. 1998. PS 3554 .A15 H4 1998.
  • Recommended: Devlin, Wende; Devlin, Harry. Cranberry, Trip to the Dentist. NY: Aladdin Books. 1994. PZ 7 .D497 1994.

  • Berenstain, Stan. The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist. NY: Random House. 1981. PZ 7 .B494 1981.
  • Civardi, Anne; Cartwright; Stephen. Going to the Dentist. London: Usborne. 1986. PZ 7 .C568 1986.
  • Dowdy, Linda Cress. Barney Goes To The Dentist. Allen Texas: Barney Publications. 1997. PS 3554 .09564 B2 1997.
  • Finnegan, Evelyn M. My Little Friend Goes to the Dentist. Scituate, Massachusetts: Little Friend Press. 1995. RK 63 .F56 1995.
  • Flanagan, Alice K. Dr. Kanner, Dentist with a Smile. NY: Children's Press. 1997. RK 63 .F531 1997.
  • Frost, Helen. Going to the Dentist. Mankato, Minnesota: Pebble Books. 1999. RK 63 .F7551 1999.
  • Gomi, Taro. The Crocodile and the Dentist. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. 1994. PZ 7 .G63 1994.
  • Green, Jen. Open Wide!: My First Trip to the Dentist. Hove, England: Wayland. 1999. RK 63 .G72 1999.
  • Greene, Carol. At the Dentist. Chanhassen, Minnesota: Child's World. 1998. RK 63 .G732 1998.
  • Sage. Angie. Molly at the Dentist. Atlanta: Peachtree. 2001. PS 3569 .S32 2001.
  • Schaefer, Lola M. Dental Office, Who Works Here? Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library. 2000. RK 63 .S2951 2000.
  • Schoberle, Cecile. Open Wide!: A Visit to the Dentist. NY: Simon. 2000. PS 3569 .C63 06 2000.
  • Snee, Nicola. Freddie Visits the Dentist. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series. 2000. PS 3569 .M32 F7 2000.

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