Hi Kids. My name’s Chomp and I’m the mascot for Snodgrass-King Pediatric Dental Associates. 

As you can see I am a very large, but very friendly alligator. I’m a jolly gator with a lot of straight teeth and a smile that I love to show off. I owe these teeth to my Mom, Dad, Dr. King and Dr. Snodgrass. You see, they teamed up shortly after I hatched to make sure my teeth stayed healthy and straight during my growing years.

Leaving the swamp to come to their office was one of my favorite adventures growing up – we don’t have video arcades in the swamp, so I loved that part. Alligators are not always so fortunate, but I consider myself very lucky and have grown to be so fond of the Doctors and all of the staff at Snodgrass-King, that I still come to now that I am a much bigger alligator. A lot of my fellow alligators get a bad rap because of their teeth and people can be scared of us. I am the least scary alligator ever and I love all of the children that come in to the offices and that I meet when I go and visit schools and events in the Nashville area.

My job is to teach kids the importance of a beautiful smile. I have learned over the years how important it is to look after my teeth – can you imagine how scary I would look with all of these teeth if they were yellow, broken, and dirty? At Snodgrass-King, I learned how to brush and floss, what foods are good for my teeth, all about sealants, and the importance of a big beautiful smile. When my baby teeth fell out, I looked funny – can you imagine my big alligator mouth with hardly any teeth in it? Now my big teeth have grown in and with the help of the orthodontists at Snodgrass-King, I now have a full mouth of the whitest, straightest, smoothest chomper’s ever. I love to smile and show them off and tell everyone how great it is at Snodgrass-King. In fact, I am such a big fan that Doctor Snodgrass asked me if I would like to be the mascot, so that I can help other children (and alligators) get a smile that they can build their future on. I feel so good about my teeth that it makes me want to smile all the time. I really want to help you feel that way too.

I do hope that I will get to meet you one day at the office or at an event. Maybe we can hang out in the waiting room and play some arcade games or I will be around to show you how to brush your teeth properly. Make sure you always ask if I am at the office and if I’m there, I will come and see you and see how you are doing with taking good care of your teeth.

Your friend, Chomp!

* Snodgrass-King has been providing quality dental care in the Middle Tennessee area for over 20 years.  If you’re looking for a dentist in Davidson County or the Middle Tennessee area, we’re looking for you!

March 2010

Q: Dr. King, Are sippy cups okay for my child’s teeth?

A:  Most children begin holding a cup around age 8 months.  Sippy cups are wonderful for children if the parents follow two certain rules.  Here are the rules.

(1)  Children should not be given fruit juice, powdered liquids, or soda pop in sippy cups if the cup and its contents are to be made available to the child through out the day.  In other words, sugary liquids in sippy cups are okay only at mealtime.

(2)  As soon as your child can hold a cup of liquid without making a mess, it is time to discard the sippy cup.  Prolonged usage can abnormally wear the teeth and cause anterior open bites.

Q:  Dr. Oakes, my pediatric dentist told me that my nine year old is ready for an orthodontic evaluation.  Is nine years of age too young for braces?

A:  Ideally, I like to start female patients around age 10 to 11 and my male patients around age 11 to 12.  however, not every child can be held to there age parameters.  Some nine year olds have all or most of their permanent teeth, and are dentally ready to start braces.  Having said that, these same nine year olds that have very mature mouths may no have mature oral hygiene habits.  Therefore, as a parent you must decide if a nine year old child can take care of his/her teeth while being treated with braces.  We all love beautifully straight teeth, but there is nothing worse than straight teeth that have been damaged during orthodontic treatment due to poor brushing and flossing habits.

Ten years ago, Danita Estrella, the daughter of a Christian missionary, felt God’s pull to Ouanaminthe, Haiti. God was calling Danita to not only care for 75 of Haiti’s abandoned and orphaned children, but to begin a mission that would eventually lead her to build a church, start a school, and initiate a feeding program which feeds over 550 children a day, perhaps their only meal of the day. (The average Haitian child is fed once every 3 days. Starvation, disease, and Haiti’s harsh tropical environment claims one of every five Haitian children before their fifth birthday.)We’ve had the privilege of visiting Danita’s orphanage; attending her church; sitting in her classrooms, eating in the cafeteria, and administering to the dental needs of over 800 of her school children and staff. We’ve witnessed the incredible medical and dental needs of these poor, impoverished, people. We’ve watched Danita and her long term missionaries, Brenda Sapp and Karris Hudson, give aid, comfort, and hope to Haitian’s dying of AIDs, suffering with cancer, or simply trying to make it to the next day.There is virtually no dental care in Haiti and good medical care is over three hours away. Danita is often forced to take her orphans to the Dominican Republic for medical care. The average Haitian doesn’t have this option. Because of this, we’ve partnered with Danita and some other very special sponsors, to build a new pediatric medical/dental clinic right there in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. The new clinic will administer to the needs of Ouanaminthe’s most impoverished pediatric population. It will also house the mission teams that God calls upon to offer their services for these people.

I’m reminded of the following biblical verses.

Isaiah 58:10 - “And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

James 1:27 - ” Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

If you want to know more about this amazing organization or how you can help bring quality medical and dental care to this region of the world, please contact Danita at www.danitaschildren.org or simply ask me or Dr. King the next time you’re in the office.

Dr. David Snodgrass