Avijit Banerjee and Timothy F. Watson. Oxford University Press price £44.99 pp 200 ISBN

9780198712091

'Pickard's Guide' has long been held in high regard, as one of the mainstays for simple operative dentistry and the latest edition certainly doesn't disappoint.

The book provides an excellent overview of the full range of topics related to this area of dentistry and is cleverly structured into well-defined sections. Each chapter begins with a short introduction including clear objectives, allowing the reader to understand what information will be covered. Alongside this, each chapter is dotted with 'self-test' questions; the answers to which are included at the end of each section, encouraging the reader to develop and test their knowledge as they go.

The book starts with an introduction to dental hard tissue pathologies, covering caries, tooth wear, developmental defects and trauma, and providing clear descriptions and definitions of key terms. Aside from the technical aspects of operative dentistry, this useful book also includes chapters providing information on disease prevention, infection control and aesthetics.

Although the book covers a wide range of information, it is easy to read with numerous useful diagrams and high quality pictures on each page to help illustrate the information. Towards the end of the book there is a chapter, which includes a 33-page section describing each operative technique, with short texts and pictures that result in an informative step-by-step guide.

The tenth edition is updated to include more modern restorative techniques, as well as an emphasis on the differing important roles of the entire oral healthcare team. They have also added technology in the form of QR codes, enabling the reader to easily scan and access the supporting material through digital media.

Overall this book addresses the core competencies relevant to undergraduates in training and would be beneficial to such readers. Additionally it would be beneficial to oral healthcare professionals looking for an ideal overview of the theory and practical aspects of conservative dentistry.