Orthodontic radiographs: guidelines, 3rd edition

  • K. G. Isaacson,
  • A. R. Thom,
  • K. Horner &
  • E. Whaites
UK: British Orthodontic Society Free to members of BOS; £15 from http://www.bos.org.uk ISBN 1899297073 | ISBN: 1-899-29707-3

This is the third edition of this book, the first edition of which was published in 1994. It is written by K. G. Isaacson, Consultant Orthodontist at the North Hampshire Hospital, Basingstoke; A. R. Thorn, Consultant Orthodontist at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead; K. Horner, Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Imaging at the School of Dentistry, Manchester and E. Whaites, Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Dental Radiology, King's College London Dental Institute, London. Acknowledgements include the Dental Defence Union, Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency.

This book was designed to 'assist the hospital practitioner, orthodontic specialist and general practitioner on the choice and timing of radiographs in clinical orthodontic practice'. It contains current 'best practice recommendations and selection criteria to comply with The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000 (IRMER)'. The third edition offers updates from the second, including two new co-authors (colleagues in maxillofacial radiology) to emphasise the importance of legislative requirements and to strengthen the sections on radiation safety. Other updates detail the radiography advances over the past five years. The layout takes the reader logically through the damaging effects of ionising radiation, aims of radiation protection, current UK legislation, magnitude of risks from diagnostic imaging, methods of radiation protection (including quality assurance), selection criteria for the use of radiographs in orthodontics, radiography in orthodontic teaching, research and audit, imaging of the temporomandibular joint, and medico-legal aspects of orthodontic radiography. Chapters are small and succinct, with multiple chapters to a page and space to spare. Each section is neatly composed with pertinent points highlighted in red. The book is concise and very easy to read; it reads much like one of the BDA practice guideline booklets. The end of the book contains a glossary, along with sources for further reading. Although this topic can normally be fairly mundane, the book uses copious colour and diagrammatic representations, including full-page flow charts, photographs and tables to enliven the text. This book is aesthetically very pleasing, with a clean, glossy finish. This, along with a logical structure, provides an easy, expeditious read. This book will only be of interest to those dental practitioners involved in orthodontics.