Understanding partial denture design

  • K. Tyson,
  • R. Yemm &
  • B. Scott
UK: Oxford University Press price £35.00, pp 160 ISBN 9780198510925 | ISBN: 978-0-1985-1092-5

Numerous investigations have shown that the communication of denture design between the surgery and laboratory is often inadequate, with many dentists regularly leaving it to the technician to design the prosthesis. While this new, soft-cover book highlights the essential role of the clinician in the process, it also emphasises the need for a close working relationship. It is aimed at students and newly qualified dentists and endeavours to cover this often poorly understood area in a step-by-step fashion in order to de-mystify the principles underlying good denture design.

Written by clinicians with extensive experience of teaching prosthetics, the book is divided into three sections concentrating on the general principles of partial dentures, assessment of the patient and examples of denture design, and issues surrounding problem solving respectively. In doing this it broadly follows the format of other well known texts, but what sets this book apart is the way the first — and largest — section in particular unlocks difficult concepts with simple and innovative examples. For example, by reference to eggs, suitcase trolleys, ceiling tiles and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the authors successfully de-mystify concepts associated with undercuts, leverage, clasp positioning and tissue support.

The text is extremely readable and illustrated throughout with excellent, clear line diagrams. However, I feel that more clinical photographs would have been helpful, particularly in the first half of the book.

The remit of the book is denture design and this is triumphantly covered, including the principles behind the surveying of casts. In addition though, I would have liked to have seen more of the clinical and laboratory stages of denture construction covered such as the selection of impression material, impression technique, try-in stages and adjustment, for example.

Not directly covering the clinical stages may prevent this book from becoming a first choice text for some dental schools. However, it remains a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to study or revisit the biological and mechanical principles of partial denture design.