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Children's Dental Health Books: About this Guide

About this Guide

Dental caries (i.e. tooth decay) is the most common chronic children's disease in the Untied States. To increase access of oral health information to children and families, and to provide guidance to those who purchase books, a list of oral health books for children (under the age of seven) was developed by an interprofessional group of reviewers for use by pediatric dentists & dental hygienists, pediatricians, nurses, librarians and early childhood teachers.

It is hoped that the book list will help guide utilization and purchasing decisions of oral health books for children with the following groups:

  • Health and social service providers, including professional associations
  • School, public and university libraries
  • Early childhood educators and child care providers
  • Publishers and literacy programs
  • And many others!

The full collection of books is available at the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Health Sciences and Human Services Library for check-out to those affiliated with the University System of Maryland and through inter-library loan for all others. Books may be purchased from a book retailer or publisher. Please note that the availability of books for purchase may be subject to change.

 

 

 

Review Process

The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HSHSL) in collaboration with the Maryland Dental Action Coalition (MDAC) convened an interprofessional team to review oral health books for children ages 0-6.  Over 100 children’s oral health books were gathered.  The books were reduced to 50 based on availability and desired age range.  The team met several times to review the books.  The two principal leaders, representing MDAC and the HSHSL, created the final recommended children’s oral health book list based on the review team’s feedback.  The book list is broken down into the following categories:

  • Oral Health Care
  • Visiting the Dentist
  • General Information about Teeth

Each book on the list includes:

  • An overall recommendation (i.e., “Highly Recommended” or “Recommended”)
  • General book information (i.e., author, year, publisher)
  • A “key” that identifies specific information included in the book
  • Additional comments

Interprofessional Review Team

An interprofessional review team was created with representation from dentistry, dental hygiene, nursing, public health, library services, and education.


Katy Battani, RDH, MS
Health Education Coordinator
Maryland Dental Action Coalition

 

Mary Ann Williams, M.S.L.S.
Research, Education & Outreach Librarian
University of Maryland, Baltimore

 

Diana Capobianco, DDS
Pediatric Dentist

 

Beth Lowe, RDH, MPH
National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center
Georgetown University

 

Elise Stines, MS, CRNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Doctor of Nursing Practice Student- University of Maryland School of Nursing

 

Alice Horowitz, PhD
University of Maryland College Park
School of Public Health

 

Dental and Dental Hygiene Students
University of Maryland School of Dentistry

 

Lisa Jendrek
Title I Pre-school Teacher
Harford County Public Schools

 

Mary Nasuta, RN, MS, NCSN
School Nurse Coordinator
Harford County Public Schools

 

Carly Bastiansen
Library Associate
Harford County Public Library

 

Judith F. Gaston RN, MS
MD Office of Oral Health

 

Evaluation Tool

The team created an evaluation tool that was used when reviewing the books.  Over 30 criteria were developed including general book and content-specific oral health components.  Each reviewer also completed an overall assessment of each book.

Sample criteria included:

  • Portrays dentist/dental hygienist positively
  • Includes interactive components
  • Avoids anxiety-producing words (i.e., shot, hurt, needle, pain)
  • Mentions first visit to the dentist by age 1
  • Uses age-appropriate vocabulary
  • Mentions fluoride toothpaste
  • Emphasizes prevention
  • Explains importance/function of teeth
  • Mentions purpose of fluoride

 

If you would like to print a copy of this list, several formats are available:1)  8.5 x 11 single page flier/handout, 2) Bookmark - two per page, 3) Bookmark- oversized.

Book List Single Page Flier

Bookmark - two per page 1

Bookmark - two per page 2

Bookmark - oversized

Acknowledgements

  • A very special “thank you” to the Interprofessional Review Team who volunteered their time to this project.
  • Appreciation is extended to the following publishers for their generous donations of preview books:
    • ABDO Publishing Company
    • Capstone
    • Gareth Stevens Publishing
    • Lerner Books
    • Scholastic
    • Toothful Tales
    • Usborne Publishing
  • Sincere thanks to the DentaQuest Foundation for their support.
  • Gratitude to the staff members of the Health Sciences & Human Services Library (especially Patrick Waugh & Thom Pinho) and the Maryland Dental Action Coalition staff & members whose help was invaluable.
  • Special thanks to Dr. Diana Capobianco for providing the review team with space to meet at the Bel Air office of Growing Smiles.

 

Poster Presentations

  • Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association (MLA) in 2015
  • Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association (MAC-MLA) in 2014

 

Gallery

Borrowing or Purchasing Books

The full collection of books is available at the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Health Sciences and Human Services Library for check-out to those affiliated with the University System of Maryland and through inter-library loan for all others. Books may be purchased from a book retailer or publisher. Please note that the availability of books for purchase may be subject to change.

Suggest a Book/ Send A Comment/ Request Updates

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Spread the Word with Others

Share with us & others how you have used the booklist, this subject guide, or specific books on the list. You can also send us your related tweets, newsletter mentions, photos, etc.

Together we can educate children, their caregivers & the health professionals working with children about the importance of good oral health & reading, too!

Email Mary Ann Williams