Mary Otto; 2017; The New Press; £17.65; pp. 28; ISBN: 978-1620971444

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To categorise Teeth by Mary Otto would be to put it somewhere between investigative journalism, historical analysis and public health research. Otto wrote the book after investigating the story of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old boy from Maryland who died as a result of an untreated dental infection.

It tells the story of American dentistry, from its inception to current practice, and outlines how far there is still to go. It is unsurprising to read that for some vulnerable people at the centre of America's cities, there is not a marked difference between where dentistry has been historically and where it is now, in terms of their ability to access affordable dental care.

Otto looks into the founding of the dental profession and why it was never fully integrated into medicine. Although there are great benefits, particularly in terms of specialised training from an early stage, the book made me reflect on the negative results of this - notably the separation of oral health from the rest of the body in current UK education. This is particularly true of the lack of comprehensive oral health education for medical students and GP trainees; their training currently encourages them to see oral health as the domain of the dentist. Otto also acknowledges how this degree of separation keeps dentistry away from inclusion in important policy and legislation.

The author clearly outlines the social ramifications of dental disease in a way which illustrates dental health as a need, not a luxury. I was hoping that the exponential growth of cosmetic dentistry and our profession's involvement in the beauty industry would be subject to Otto's investigation and sharp analysis, but I found this to be lacking.

As a dentist in the UK, I hoped to read this book at an arm's length. But the more I read, the more comparisons with current UK dentistry I saw. In the last few years, there have been many reports of an inaccessibility to affordable dental care in some smaller cities and towns in the UK, resulting in patients, if they have the means to, travelling upwards of 100 miles for NHS care.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in medical history, but is an essential read for those who wish to reflect on the accessibility of affordable dental care in a westernised health system, and the consequences for those who go without.

Rachel Vernazza