This 288-page illustrated paperback oral and maxillofacial surgery text book contains relevant introductory material on oral surgery. It is a British book intended primarily for under graduate dental students as well as nurses, dental assistants and para dental personnel.
The basic chapters focus on; the new patient; general patient management; management of patients with certain systemic conditions; emergencies in oral surgery; pharmacology in oral surgery; the operating room instruments and the surgical team; surgical principles and techniques; extractions of teeth and roots; removal of unerupted teeth; complications of tooth extraction; preparation of the mouth for dentures; surgical treatment of orofacial infections; treatment of cysts of the mouth; management of maxillofacial trauma; tumors of the mouth and the management of oral cancer; treatment of surgical conditions of the salivary glands; the temporomandibular joint; facial deformity.
The chapters are simple and easy to follow and include relevant tables as well as black and white illustrations and photographs. At the beginning of every chapter the bulleted summary of subjects matter making it easy for the reader to skim over the contents.
The terminology is simple and to the point, although, more detailed drawings as well as coloured pictures or plates would add significantly to the subject matter. My registered nurses and dental assistants thoroughly enjoyed the book as it allowed them to visualize and understand what and how procedures are done specifically in the office setting.
The book would be strengthened, however, with “overview” sections on state of the art bone grafting techniques, as well as inclusion of genioplasty procedures in the facial deformity chapter.
Moreover, a chapter or paragraph on basic implantology would enhance the primer make this a book full scope edition for the principles of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Review by Dr. Bohdan Kryshtalskyj, Oral Health’s contributing consultant, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
