ABC Dentist: Healthy Teeth from A to Z

PreSchool-Grade 3—A visit to the dentist has never been so painless. Ziefert describes the experience in an interesting and comprehensible alphabetical format. Plaque, floss, cavity, and 23 other terms are defined. Pleasing collages combined with colorful illustrations and diagrams provide a realistic picture of what goes on in a dental office. School nurses and dental hygienists would be able to teach a unit on dental health using the book, and it would be a worthwhile purchase for dental offices serving young children. A must purchase for most libraries.—Nancy Baumann, Indian Paintbrush Elementary, Laramie, WY
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Like their previous collaboration, ABC Doctor (2007), this book is designed to soothe anxious young patients. From A (“appointment”) to Z (“zillion times cleaner”), the bright, collage-filled pages feature facts about teeth and gums, assurances that a visit to the dentist won’t hurt too much, and images of children getting care from friendly dentists and hygienists. The facts range from the basics (explaining why a bib and dental chair are useful) to the more specialized (the different types of teeth and what a tooth is made of), while the slightly old-school illustrations (the dentist and orthodontist are both portrayed as white men, and their helpers are female) offer a variety of views of mouths and teeth, including one nice use of an actual X-ray. Almost everyone in the book is smiling (the exceptions being a nervous child on the “questions” page and the one who has a canker sore, or “ulcer”), but the book seeks to offer plenty of knowledge as well as comfort. Grades K-3. --Abby Nolan