Dental visits can be intimidating, even scary, for children. Jeremiah Kim, DMD23, aims to change that by introducing superheroes that make oral health accessible and fun.
His new children’s picture book “The Mouth Guardians” is the culmination of a creative process that began his first year in dental school. It teaches young patients the importance of maintaining positive oral health habits by following the Mouth Guardians endeavors to keep their city, Mouthopolis, safe from the “bad guys” who spread dental decay.
“I hope to play a role in making our field, bluntly speaking, ‘cool,’” said Kim. “I believed that publishing a fun and whimsical children’s book where dentistry and oral health are seen as cool and aspirational would play a small and humble role in building out the future I envision.”
Kim has always been drawn to the creativity of design and construction. A self-described “aspiring architect of the mouth,” he completed his undergraduate studies in biology and architecture at Williams College, and worked at an architecture firm in Boston prior to starting dental school. He is the first in his family to pursue a healthcare profession.
“I saw dentistry as a well-adapted vehicle to accept the transferable learnings of my time in architectural design, my ability to implement multiple variables into aesthetic and practical solutions,” said Kim. “Mentorship from former Vice Dean Dr. John Da Silva, a Williams College alumnus himself, during my time working in architecture, helped smooth the transition to dentistry and HSDM.”
During his time at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), Kim served as an instructor for the Bridge to Dental School program, a program offered through HSDM’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging aimed at encouraging diverse representation in dental school applicants by providing prospective students with mentorship and coaching from current HSDM students. He also participated in HSDM’s annual Give Kids a Smile event and the Action for Children and Teenagers in Oral Health Need (ACTION) program.
“I hope for similar mentorship opportunities in my future and have studied how various doctors have included aspects of mentorship and apprenticeship into their private practices,” he said.
Kim began writing “The Mouth Guardians” during his first year at HSDM, developing all the characters, learning how to use Adobe InDesign, researching how to build narrative worlds, and working with an illustrator to help bring his concept to life. Although the three-year writing process provided him with many insights, there were two that stood out to Kim the most: providing healthcare to others is a privilege, and representation matters.
“I decided from the beginning that the world of superheroes needed more minorities and envisioned an Asian-American boy and Black girl to lead my story. Throughout the process, I’ve shared some of my pre-published drafts with some of my patients for feedback during our peds (pediatric) clinic. I recall one instance where two young Black fraternal twins—a boy and girl—looked at the front cover, and the boy’s first words to me were, ‘Where’s me?!’ I understood his innocent outburst as him seeing his sister in the female protagonist, but not himself,” said Kim. “I hope to continue this work so that more kids can see themselves as protagonists in my various stories.”
It isn’t surprising the former architecture student, with a passion for helping kids, will pursue a residency in Orthodontics and Craniofacial Orthopedics after he graduates in May. Kim will attend Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where he can help engineer new smiles for his young patients.
“I believe both the comprehensive and innovative nature of the ortho program will position me well wherever my various interests take me,” Kim said.
Kim hopes to continue to change the narrative in the field of dentistry, by growing “The Mouth Guardians” into a series of books to hand out to his patients during each visit, serving as a reminder to attend their follow up appointments to learn what happens next with the Mouth Guardians.
“I have a big heart for kids and love the idea of having a book to give my patients.”
