European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry

Book Review - Clinical Dental Medicine 2020

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Cover Date

June 2011

Print ISSN

0965-7452

Vol

19

Issue

2

Abstract

Clinical Dental Medicine 2020. Editor Nairn H. F. Wilson. ISBN: 9871 85097 1894. Quintessence 2009. Hardback £92. 232 pages 235 mostly colour illustrations

This book was commissioned to mark 60 years of publishing by Quintessence. Most books aim to provide the most up to date information at the time of publishing, the authors go one stage further and provide an excellent, authoritative account of dentistry today and how the dental specialties will evolve over the next decade. Aimed at those with ‘interests and responsibilities in dentistry and oral health science’ it actually suitable for all levels and well illustrated in colour throughout, each chapter details the past and current concepts within each discipline and then looks to what we may expect of the future in light of current opinion and developments. The early part of the book has a significant proportion dedicated to reviewing historical and contemporary literature underpinning current methods of preventative dentistry. This detail of this section is necessary for the reader to begin to understand the need for global preventive programmes based on predicting the risk of future disease. The chapter on dental radiology and imaging take the reader on a journey from the early days of Röntgen and the discovery of X-rays through to current state of the art cone beam computerised tomography (CBCT) and nonionizing radiation imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound. Subsequent chapters focus on restorative dentistry and include historical milestones in materials and techniques within the specialty before looking at Prosthodontics, Periodontology and Endodontology individually. The Prosthodontic chapter has a nice balance describing traditional fixed, removable and implant retained prostheses as well as a useful section on ceramics. In the discipline of Endodontology the authors highlight the need for improving the success rate of the procedure despite recent advances in efficient instrumentation and that further understanding the role of the biofilm is required. The clinical photographs included in the chapter on Periodontology are of excellent quality and illustrate the roles of these techniques exceptionally well for a book of this nature. Later chapters review current thinking and barriers in implant dentistry, orthodontics and oral surgery. In the field of orthodontics the authors detail advances in knowledge of biomolecular science over the last 20 years which underpin periodontal ligament and bone turnover. This is written in a very understandable and succinct manner for such a specialised area of science. The penultimate chapter on oral surgery is once again superbly well illustrated with clinical images and provides useful summaries of the current remit of today’s oral surgeon. Useful summaries at the beginning and end of the book help to map out the path from where we are today to how we can all assist in shaping the profession of tomorrow.

Simon Stone School of Dental Sciences Newcastle Unversity