L. K. McCauley, M. J. Somerman (eds). UK: Wiley-Blackwell price £93.99; pp 392 ISBN

9780470958339

This text, Mineralized tissues in oral and craniofacial science, published in 2012 is an excellent compilation of the rapidly changing concepts in the field of mineralisation with respect to oral and craniofacial science. While there are pathology textbooks that discuss mineralisation, there is no other book available to focus on biological principles and clinical correlates of mineralised tissues in oral and craniofacial region. This 392-page book is organised into three sections: bones of the oral-dental and craniofacial complex, teeth and bone in relation to teeth. Each of these sections was well organised. Section one, bones of the oral-dental and craniofacial complex, starts with a chapter dealing with embryological development, followed by cellular mechanism of bone formation, autosomal disorders and stem cell therapy for craniofacial bone regeneration. Similarly, the second section starts with tooth development, disorders of tooth formation and ends with regeneration strategies. Finally, section three deals with the bone and teeth interface. Biomechanics of teeth is well described in this section and is very interesting.

The authors have made laudable strides to make clinical correlates link with the preceding chapter's laboratory research and further keep the contents up to date and relevant to the modern curriculum by adding numerous references to papers published in the last two years. The publisher also offers purchasers downloadable photographs, which can be utilised for academic presentation purposes. More than 150 images are available online. In addition, the textbook is available in e-book format.

In summary, this book is commendable for the extent of its content and its ability to remain up to date. It serves the needs not only of first-year students, but also of various specialists in training and all practitioners looking for a rationale in their diagnosis and treatment.