Hygienists in Print

 

HYGIENISTS IN PRINT            FICTION AND NONFICTION             by Lois Foster Hirt

-Vampires/Unusual Aspects/Kids-

Kyra Davis' SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE-- Protagonist/writer Sophie Katz probes Jason, her friend Dena's boyfriend, why he's working at the Gap (You have to understand he has a big desire to be a vampire-we all have our shticks.) Bottom line he needs dental insurance. Sophie's question, ‘Do vampires visit the dentist?' Sophie & friends are trying to discover if someone is imitating art & has murdered a filmmaker, just like in his movie,& a rapper, just like his song. Is a copycat murderer trying to kill Sophie like in 1 of her books?

Kerrelyn Sparks' HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE VAMPIRE poses the question, what is a NYC vampire to do when he breaks off a fang biting into a life-like female doll (better than a human). Is there a vampire DDS available? (That's what Roman Dragnesti/vampire needs to know.) Unfortunately, no. He has to visit a mortal DDS. Fortunately the phone books supplies 1 that's open 24 hours. Dr. Shanna Whelan is examining Roman's fang& wonders why he wants to place a wolf tooth in his mouth. At that point, she realizes something's happening. Then, someone calls asking for her by her real name, not the 1 she's using. They're after her! She's in the witness protection program, & the man who can help her 24/7 isn't answering his phone. Step in ---the vampire. He squirrels her off to his place. [Kerrelyn thought it would funny to put an enterprising & debonair vampire in an embarrassing situation-thus the fang. So Shanna, a mortal DDS with psychic powers, was born. SoBright Dental Clinic sprang from NY's SoHo area,& Dr. Bright, exists in Katy , TX , where she lives. (She thinks its amusing making 1 think of bright teeth.) Kerrelyn is impressed by the Katy DDSs support of the community in a number of way, thus Shanna mentions she wanted to be the neighborhood DDS who's part of the community & sponsors kids teams. Now for coincidences- Terri Brisbin, RDH/romance writer/ Kerrelyn's friend, gave Kerrelyn the idea of the vampire considering having sex in a dental chair. Terri once discovered a romantic couple in the dental chair. Back to art imitating life.] Roman is 500 years old & takes great care of his teeth because he remembers using a frayed twig for a toothbrush & the barber pulling teeth with rusty pliers. [That came from her research for her historical romance FOR LOVE OR COUNTRY. She commented, ‘She likes to include teeth tidbits because my heroes & heroines are supposed to be attracted to each other, & who would want to kiss a hero with black rotting teeth?'] There's 3 contemporary romances in Kathy Love's vampire trilogy--#1 FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES-#3 will be I ONLY HAVE FANGS FOR YOU. In #2 FANGS BUT NO FANGS Christian Young, 210 year old/ still hunky vampire, has lost his ability to bite, is totally clueless in this modern world about most things, but knows he wants Jolee Dugan when he saves her life from her trashy brother at the trailer park where they both live. She owns a pub/karaoke saloon where he ends up helping her. Once their romance takes off, watch out. (WARNING-their love making gets quite explicit.) Fangs appear quite a bit in the book, but fortunately for Christian, his don't. (Only read this 1.) 

Susan Conant's SCRATCH THE SURFACE, is book 1 in her Felicity Pride Cat Lover's Mystery. Protagonist/bookstore owner/mystery cat writer Felicity is checking out a new cat found beside a body by her apartment's vestibule. Part of this cat's exam included checking the teeth. (They're clean.). Further on, enter the no longer married/good-looking detective. On the internet-Felicity discovers his wife died from an endocarditis gotten after a dental procedure. She mentions she never remembered a fictitious detective's wife dying of this. For her next mystery, Felicity wants to use mercury poisoning as the culprit. She knows amalgams contain mercury, but she doesn't want a murdering DDS. Maybe the killer could extract his own fillings. 

John Lescroart 2nd series stars Wayne Hunt, new gumshoe, in HUNT CLUB. A recently closed case was locating a DDSs' 19 year-old daughter, who split from college to move in with her boyfriend. Two of Hunt's employees meet with a woman they need info from. One noticed she had numerous alterations on her body, including her teeth Believing some prisoners are being let out of jail to commit crimes, Hunt speaks to 1 man about the situation. He informs Hunt 4 convicts have died in prison. ‘One complication from‹I'm not kidding-a pulled tooth.' (Is dentistry the new death in mysteries?) One man invites Hunt to appear on TV because of some cases he's working on. Hunt's reply, ‘Like I want a root canal.'

KIDS BOOKS- DAN Greenburg's series (kids 8-12) SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG - The 1st book, subtitled THE ONTS, & # 2 TREACHERY & BETRAYAL AT JOLLY DAYS involve the Mandible Sisters, giant ants disguised as humans, in Mandible House. The Sisters took the Shluffmuffin twins on a trial adoption. Mandible House isn't where they want to be. Their escape leads to book 2. (There's more.) Greenberg's DR. JEKYLL, ORTHODONTIST---The Zack Files--See what happens when Dr. Sheldon Jekyll, orthodontist, attempts to straighten teeth with his secret method, & how ack/patient discovers his secret.

LEONARD THE TERRRIBLE MONSTER-Mo Williams [ages 3-36] - Leonard failed as a monster. He didn't have the 1642 teeth monster Tony had. Instead Leonard decided to become a friend, never totally giving up trying to scare his friend. DINOSAILORS-Deb Lund [ages 3-7] Check some of these dinosaurs teeth. They decide to go to sea, & do well until a storm comes up. They're like other sailors who can't handle storms, but no matter what- they still manage to brush & floss. Illustrator Howard Fine is a DDS. His next book is ALL ABOARD THE DINOTRAIN-2006.

Legend of CAPTAIN CROW'S TEETH- Eoin Colfer (Ages 7-11) -An Irish family spends summers by the sea. The night before the Sprats' Jig (kid's disco) Marty tells his 3 brothers'The Legend Of Captain Crow's Teeth. Many years ago mean pirate/Captain Crow lost a fight with a boy on a ship he was attacking, ending up with an ax in his head. They never found the boy. Legend has it on good days, Crow & his pirates piled their booty on rocks jutting out of the sea. Because the rocks would glimmer & twinkle like Crow's gold teeth if the pirates shown a light on them, they were called Captain Crow's Teeth. On his deathbed, the captain promised he would be back for the boy. If the rocks glow at high tide, his ghost is searching for a boy of a similar age to carry him back to his ghost ship. There's a scientific explanation for the glow. Marty & Will are off to the dance with instructions from their parents to pay attention to their rules. They remind Marty that he lost his upper incisor by not listening & of the cost. After the dance, more of both Captain's Crow's & Marty's teeth play a role. 

Gail Herman's FAIRY SCHOOL­TOOTH FAIRY TRAVELS - Little fairy wishes to become a tooth fairy like her whole Dentalette family. Discovers learning to be 1 isn't easy. 2006 is Mozart's 250th anniversary. 'Excerpts From Fragments of Zoroaster' riddle‹(they were darkly personal, filled with imagery of imprisonment, mutilation and betrayal- one starts- ‘We are many sisters; it is painful for us to unite as well as to separate. We live in a palace, yet we could rather call it a prison' Answer --teeth- [Smithsonian magazine 2/06] Grant Wood based the farmer in his American Gothic painting on a Cedar Rapids DDS; the daughter, on his sister.