74 BRITISH JOURNAL OF ORAL SURGERY

that on mandibular defects, and these chapters are clearly written by authors with a wealth of personal practical experience. Other chapters, such as that on cleft palate habilitation, might as well have been written twenty years ago. Chapter ten on prosthetic implications of oral and maxillofacial surgery is so superficial that one wonders if it was written for undergraduates, although in fact it is probably the only chapter which would be suitable for those ‘multiple health professionals’ mentioned in the foreword.

The book has been well produced, there are few typographic errors, the printing is excellent as are the photographs and illustrations. There are however many inaccuracies in the references and in some chapters these references are not representative of the ‘current state of the art’. As with many trans-Atlantic works the grammar jars upon the Anglo-Saxon ear, but apart from ‘surgerized’ on page 521 the style is easy to read.

The reviewer is left with the problem of evaluating this book. Some chapters are outstandingly good with a wealth of information, others are of such little value as to be useless. Who would use this book? Some chapters seem to be of interest to maxillofacial surgeons whilst others are directed at maxillofacial technicians. Regrettably, if judged by the authors’ claim in their preface, this book fails but despite this it does contain much valuable material.

JOHN D. LANGD~N

Emergencies in Dental Practice--Prevention and Treatment. By FRANK M. MCCARTHY. Philadelphia, London and Toronto: Saunders, 1979, hardback, pp. 767, price E16.50.

This is the third edition of a textbook that was born as a result of a symposium on emergencies assembled by the author in 1965 and published in Dental Clinics of North America. It was initially aimed at the American general dental practitioner but with revision and enlargement it is now said to appeal to a wider readership including ‘dental specialists, physicians, dental hygienists and dental auxiliaries’.

There are 27 contributors, the majority of whom are of American origin, to the 25 chapters which are in turn grouped into four parts. The first entitled Prevention of Serious Medical Emergencies, deals with the causes of sudden death and proceeds to patient evaluation, diagnosis and monitoring before embarking upon a lengthy chapter on drugs, their use and abuse and then to no less than five chapters on psychosedation. As one moves into the second section on the treatment of medical emergencies there is some duplication of information which the author/editor states falls in with his philosophy of constructing both a general compendium and a narrow reference source in one volume.

The section on prevention and treatment of surgical emergencies ranges throughlife-saving measures in maxillofacial injuries, operative emergencies and haemorrhage ending with a whole chapter on traumatised anterior teeth. The final section of the book entitled Complementary Topics has chapters on maxillofacial pain, acute oral lesions and legal aspects of emergencies. It also describes in some depth the practice of dentistry and the conduct of the practitioner in American hospitals.

The standard of presentation on glossy paper between hard covers, is satisfactory but the reproduc- tion of the monochrome photographs is not in every case of the highest quality. The index is well laid out permitting rapid access to the numerous topics covered and there are extensive references quoted in each chapter, However, I feel that the book is unbalanced with excessive space devoted to pharmacology and psychosedation as well as the relatively ‘fringe’ aspects of emergencies. Why, for example in a textbook on emergencies, is it necessary to include paragraphs of considerable length on the historical background to hospital dentistry in the U.S.A. and the procedures for appointment and reappointment to a hospital post?

Although there is much valuable information and the price is relatively low considering the pro- duction quality, the book will, I am sure find a greater acceptance among practitioners in America than in the United Kingdom.

JOHN C. LOWRY

Dental Radiology. By N. J. D. SMITH. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1980, pp. 132, price f8.50.

This new publication is based on a series of articles the author published in the British Dental Journal during 1973, and which have now been expanded and modified to help the undergraduate student.

The book is intended, as the title suggests, to inform on the subject of radiography and very little in the way of radiological interpretation is included. It falls into three sections dealing with basic

BOOK REVIEWS 75

principles, techniques appropriate to the use of the dental X-ray set, and a section dealing with techniques outside the scope of the normal dental X-ray unit.

The book is well produced and,with yellowcovers, links in with the colour of conventional radiation signs. The layout, print and graphics are attractively presented and the illustrations themselves are clear and easily understood. Reproduction of intra-oral tihns on the whole is good though the quality of some extra-oral prints is variable and they are consistently too small in size.

The section on radiation physics is useful and contains some enlightening paragraphs on the relationship between the Roentgen, the Rad, the Rem and S.I. units. It also deals sensibly and practically with radiation hazards and radiation protection.

Necessarily in a book of only 132 pages, details of techniques must be abbreviated, but good coverage is given to the various intra-oral views with a helpful section on ccchtsal radiography.

An enlightening chapter on tomography has been included with clear explanatory diagrams and another chapter deals with dental pantomography. A further chapter has a brief but useful explanation of the various other extra-oral films which the student or general practitioner is likely to encounter. There are obvious omissions in this section but it should be borne in mind that the book is primarily designed for the undergraduate student.

The text is clear and readable and the book can only be a help to undergraduate students and probably to many radiologists of more years’ standing. It will certainly be a very useful book to add to the bench collections of departments of radiology.

VINCENT TAYLOR

Oral Disease. Edited by C. E. RENSON. London: Update Publications Ltd., 1978, pp. 96, price E6.20 ($5.50 for callers).

Nine contributors have joined in producing this book. It is based on a series of articles which appeared in Update and which were intended to give medical practitioners an insight into dental and oral disease. It presents basic knowledge of the diseases found in the mouth and, as such, its editor believes it will be useful to dental students, operating dental ancillaries and dental practitioners.

The book contains fourteen chapters, and an index, in 86 pages. It is illustrated in colour and deals with developmental defects of the mouth and jaws, diseases of the teeth and supporting structures, diseases of the oral mucosa, neoplasms in the mouth and diseases of the throat. The usefulness of the book depends on its colour photographs and many of these are excellent and interesting. However, a few are of poor quality, or are not typical of the disorder they purport to illustrate.

The colour photographs are accompanied by a text which provides abbreviated accounts of the diseases illustrated. There is occasional repetition and much information essential to the diagnostician and person treating the disorder is omitted.

This book will interest the student or practitioner, medical or dental, who wishes to revise the clinical appearances of some oral diseases. It will provide the medical practitioner with insight of the diversity of oral disease and of the general field of dentistry. Indeed in this way the articles fulfill their original purpose. However, the book does not provide comprehensive coverage in text or illustrations of oral diseases nor does its text provide su&ient information for the diagnosis or treatment of these. One sympathises with the editor in attempting to satisfy a wide medical and dental audience and he can take comfort in the quality of the collections of photographs he has drawn together.

J.H. JONES

Pediatric Oral and Maxlllofaclal Surgery. By BRUCE SANDERS. St Louis: C. V. Mosby, 1979, pp. 606, price 637.50.

This new book aims to fill a void by bringing together the current medical and dental literature relating to oral and maxillofacial surgery in children. The 15 chapters have been written by 17 authors, most of whom are from the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of California at Los Angeles. There is a certain lack of balance, however, as only four of the contributors are oral or maxillofacial surgeons.

As well as the more conventional chapter headings, it is refreshing to find such titles as Excessive Drooling, Psychosocial considerations, and Common Pediatric Medical Disorders Complicating Surgery. The chapter on Morphology, Growth and Maturation is well written, and presents most of the controversial issues in a balanced and concise manner. Facial Injuries are comprehensively described in one of the best chapters in the book.

Infections are fairly well covered, but few experienced clinicians in the United Kingdom would