At the Dentist - ISBNLookup.com

Children's Literature - Leslie Rounds

Part of the "Healthy Teeth" series, this attractive book offers preschoolers and early elementary school students a close-up look at a dental visit. Large color photographs fill more than half of double-page spreads. These show "Deb," a five- or six-year-old girl, smiling, meeting the dentist, being shown how to brush her teeth, getting an x-ray, having the plaque removed from her teeth, getting her sealant dried with a blue light, having her teeth examined, and showing off a toothbrush and a package of floss. The photo of plaque removal may scare some children since the scaling tool almost appears to be impaling her tongue! The text is very brief and printed in large, clear letters on a white background. The book includes a table of contents, an index, a glossary, a brief list of relatively recent books on the topic, and a list of websites. This last resource isn't entirely helpful: one of the three sites listed is for the American Dental Association, which is not child friendly, and the second is a dead link to the American Academy of Dermatology. The third site listed is age-appropriate and provides a simple overview of a variety of tooth-related topics. This attractive book might be a useful addition to collections that need basic information on the teeth for early readers and listeners, but it is not an essential purchase. Reviewer: Leslie Rounds