Fundamentals of fixed prosthodontics, fourth edition

  • H. T. Shillingburg
(ed) UK: Quintessence price £88.00; pp 584 ISBN 9780867154757 | ISBN: 978-0-8671-5475-7

Fixed prosthodontics can be a minefield for dental practitioners who must ensure that the most suitable restoration is placed for aesthetic and functional purposes and most importantly, oral health for our patients is maintained. This is a new edition of a well-known text by Schillingburg, which includes up-to-date techniques and materials that are now routinely used in dental practice.

This 584 page book is aimed at dentists of all levels of experience from undergraduate and postgraduate to general dental practitioners. This text covers all disciplines in fixed prosthodontics from occlusion to bridge design to construction of a veneer in a laboratory.

The chapters are concise and in a logical order. The initial chapters discuss occlusion in detail with numerous illustrations on inter-occlusal records and facebows. The subsequent chapters demonstrate all preparations for intra- and extra-coronal restorations. At the start of each different preparation, the authors have written an armamentarium, which allows the reader to check their equipment prior to attempting these preparations. This book also covers dental materials and the laboratory side of fixed prosthodontics, which are not covered in great detail at an undergraduate level. However, some of the content is more suited to a postgraduate level including electrosurgery, orthodontic extrusion of a tooth for restorative purposes and definitive restorations following a hemisection.

The text wouldn't be complete without discussing implant dentistry. The final chapters discuss the basics in implant assessment, placement and restoration. However, if the reader is placing and restoring vast quantities of implants, I would recommend a more specialist text.

The size of the book initially seemed quite daunting but there are high numbers of very clear diagrams to accompany the text. I found these very useful as they demonstrate the tooth preparations clearly step by step, which can sometimes be difficult to visualise mentally. I particularly liked the chapter on replacing a single tooth or multi-tooth spaces because the partial fixed denture (bridge) designs were illustrated clearly with any considerations clearly marked such as location in the oral cavity, abutment crown: root ratio and suitability for implant placement.

Personally, I think this book is a great resource into fixed prosthodontics for dentists of all levels of experience and a definite must read text for undergraduate students.