Carmel Grad Hannah Pedersen Publishes Book to Help Kids With Dental Visits
Writer / Michelle Kaufman
Photography Provided
As a senior at Carmel High School, Hannah Pedersen completed a research project on the effects of dental anxiety on a child’s oral health.
After surveying elementary students, Pedersen discovered a connection. Kids who had dental anxiety didn’t know as much about oral hygiene and had poorer oral health. While working at a dentist’s office throughout the last few summers, she noticed a lot of patients have dental anxiety.
Two years ago Pedersen had the idea of creating a storybook called “Will I Survive the Dentist?” to help them.
“I wanted it to tell a really great story that’s heartfelt, but also educational,” she says. “I wanted it to have a plot that children of all ages could understand. I have really high hopes that this will help a lot of families – not only children, but parents too. I think for parents it can be really difficult to navigate that first visit.”
As a child, Pedersen says dental anxiety was very prominent in her own life as she navigated dental issues. “I thought back to what would have helped, and I’ve found that interactive experiences are the best way for me to learn or deal with something,” she says. “Being able to have that tangible item in your hands on your way to the dentist or even in the dental office, I think, is really beneficial. Kids can flip through the pages, become intrigued and learn something.”
Pedersen is now a senior at Indiana University studying biology on the pre-dental track. “Will I Survive the Dentist?” came out in September.
She recently returned to her elementary school, Cherry Tree Elementary, to read her book to students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
“Every grade level had a different reaction,” she says. “It was really interesting to see how the progression turned from kindergarteners who were still terrified of the dentist to fifth graders who were saying the orthodontist is more terrifying now.”
Pedersen says the younger kids were intrigued by the story itself, while the older kids asked questions about the process of writing a book and becoming an author.
In the future, Pedersen knows she wants to go into the field of dentistry and continue to help children with dental anxiety.
“I think what’s really important for any dental provider is integrity and having a feeling of safety,” she says. “I want to be that dentist for those patients where they feel safe, and if they do have any questions, it’s all open communication. Dr. Chad Hazelrigg at Pediatric Dentistry of Noblesville opened the world of dentistry [for me], so I want to be that dentist. I just want to excel in the craft of dentistry, doing what I love and helping the community around me.”
“Will I Survive the Dentist?” is available online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and BookBaby. For more information about Pedersen and her book, visit survivethedentist.com.
