Dr. Carol McKown and her staff at Carmel Pediatric Dentistry are pleased to announce that Dr. Katherine Nichols has joined the office as an Associate. Like Dr. McKown, Dr. Nichols has specialized training in the practice of pediatric dentistry. After completing her undergraduate degree at Butler and graduating from the IU School of Dentistry, Dr. Nichols completed a two-year residency in pediatric dentistry at the Riley Hospital for Children in 2012. She has been in private practice for the past two years, but has chosen to practice part-time with Carmel Pediatric Dentistry in order to allow Dr. Nichols time for her own growing young family (one child just turned two and she is expecting her second child in November).
Dr. Nichols chose to pursue a specialty degree in pediatric dentistry after serving on multiple mission trips while in dental school serving underprivileged children in Mexico. According to Dr. Nichols, “Having hands-on experience on these trips solidified my love of caring for children and improving their oral health. It is important to me to provide a positive experience for children and create a lifelong love of the dentist rather than propagate fear for little ones.” Dr. Nichols knows that, “Teaching children early about the importance of oral health can create a lifetime of healthy habits.” A goal of Dr. Nichols is to see young fearful children blossom into brave kids who look forward to coming to the dentist’s office every six months.
The best advice Dr. Nichols has for parents is, “Watch out for the sneaky cavity-producing foods. We all know that candy, soda and juice are bad for teeth, but some products advertise things like ‘no sugar added’, ‘all natural’ and ‘organic,’” which trick parents into thinking they are healthy. She advises to read the labels, as many of these foods contain high amounts of sugar and can have cavity-producing effects.
At the present time, Dr. Nichols will be seeing patients at Carmel Pediatric Dentistry on Mondays and Fridays. As Dr. McKown stated, “Not only does Dr. Katie have good hands, but more importantly, she has a good heart. Our patients and staff love her! Welcome, Dr. Katie!”
