Book review

  • A. Senior
Available from the iBooks store price £5.49 Apple ID: 910769832

With the majority of the population now able to purchase books for their tablet or mobile phone, there has been a massive trend towards dental textbooks being available in electronic form.

Dental radiography: A quick reference guide for intra-oral images by Dr Anthea Senior, Clinical Associate Professor in Dental Radiology from the University of Alberta, is only available in e-book format (only from the Apple iBook at present.) This 49 page e-book has been produced with the aim of providing tips on radiography for intra-oral views for newly qualified dentists or anyone new to using digital radiography.

The book starts with an introduction covering patient preparation, what anatomical landmarks should be seen on the radiographs and rectangular collimation. In the section on patient protection, there is a good section on regulations for radiation protection. Even though this book has been primarily written with the Canadian and American market in mind, the majority of this information is still correct to be in keeping with the UK regulations, IR(ME)R.

The next chapter is on the techniques for taking diagnostic intra-oral views. This includes bitewings, periapicals, bisecting angles and occlusals. The theory behind these techniques is well written in bullet points making it easy to read and this is supplemented by multiple photos, diagrams and video clips. There is mention of Canadian Radiation safety codes in this section which are not applicable for the UK. Within this chapter, there is a section on intra-oral techniques for children. Unfortunately, some of these recommendations, particularly the use of full mouth periapicals with supplemental bitewings, are not in keeping with the FGDP Selection Criteria Guidelines for the UK.

The last chapter of this e-book contains tricks and tips for difficult patients or anatomy, such as unusually long roots and strong gag reflexes. It also has a slide show on radiographic errors, which has multiple examples of various errors that can occur with intra-oral views.

In summary, this is a useful reference guide (particularly chapter two, Intra-oral techniques) that you could have close to hand if you notice that you are having problems acquiring diagnostic intra-oral radiographs, or if your clinic has just changed to using direct digital or indirect digital phosphor plates. Unfortunately, some of the selection criteria and regulations included in this e-book are not relevant for the UK so some caution should be taken in relation to this.