It’s safe to say that no one looks forward to dental check-ups. But a new children’s book designed for young patients receiving community-based care may make their first experience a little less frightening. The Night Before the Virtual Dentist (Grosset & Dunlap, Apr. 29), the latest title in Natasha Wing’s Night Before picture book series, is the collaboration of an entrepreneurial Maine bookseller and a local outreach program coordinator who turned a promising idea into an educational opportunity.
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In late 2023, Kenny Brechner, owner of DDG Booksellers in Farmington, Maine, was chatting with Head Start coordinator Danielle Hamlin, who had purchased 100 copies of Wing’s The Night Before the Dentist on behalf of the Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine. When Hamlin posed the idea of creating a similar book about the virtual dentist experience, it gave Brechner pause. “I had no idea what virtual dentistry was, and the idea that a book on the subject could be successfully pitched to Random House seemed like a long shot,” he told PW.
Intrigued by the prospect, however, Brechner did some research and learned not only that Maine suffers from a shortage of dentists, but that the virtual dentist model would be expanding throughout the state and into other areas of the country, allowing students to receive preventive dental treatments in schools and other community-based settings. His newfound knowledge prompted a call to Deb Lewis, then- director of BTB trade sales at Penguin Random House (since retired). To pique her interest, “I said to her, ‘I’m going to tell you an idea. When you hear it, your first thought is going to be, ‘You can’t be serious,’ but after I explain it, you’re going to think, ‘Wow, that’s really worth pursuing,’ ” Brechner recalled.
It didn’t take much convincing before Lewis embraced the proposal. After Brechner secured a commitment for a 5,000-copy order from the Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine and Head Start, Lewis arranged a meeting in January 2024 between Brechner and the Penguin Random House team. He acted as a liaison for the local chapters, which supplied him with a virtual dentistry video to illustrate the service’s benefits during his meeting with PRH. Three options were then put on the table: adding an information sheet to The Night Before the Dentist, updating the existing book, or publishing a new title devoted to virtual dentistry. “I knew that my institutional partners really wanted to see an entirely new book produced, and I was very pleased that the PRH team came to that conclusion themselves and totally got behind the project,” Brechner said.
Development for the new book was soon underway, and, at PRH’s request, Brechner connected Emilie Knight, program development manager at the Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine, with Wing. By last July, the book had been drafted and a publication date had been set. “The Night Before the Virtual Dentist is the first of its kind to depict community-based oral health care, which is becoming more and more common around the country,” Knight said. “Having a nationally recognized children’s author capture [this type of] care and teledentistry in her book supports our work with providers, partners, families, insurers, and policymakers.”
Brechner believes this new title is a natural addition to the Night Before series, helping to support children and their families with new life experiences. “It’s well-illustrated, accurate, fun, and is just the right mix of playful and informative,” he said. Kids enrolled in the Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine’s Virtual Dental Home program will receive Wing’s book to prepare them for dental hygiene visits.
Though Brechner’s behind-the-scenes work is uncredited in the book, he was praised by the PRH team, including account marketing manager Eric Bliss and senior publishing manager, brands and licenses, Casey Nugent. “The real celebration will be the distribution of the 5,000 copies to the children enrolled in the Virtual Dental Home program in our communities,” he said.
Not to mention all those pearly white smiles.
