W. R. Laney, T. J. Salinas, A. B. Carr, S. Koka, S. E. Eckert (eds). UK: Quintessence price £102.00; pp 342 ISBN

9780867154047

Published in hardback by Quintessence and written by a collaboration of authors from the prestigious Mayo Clinic in the USA, this text is a contemporary, comprehensive and evidence-based compendium of both the art and the science of prosthodontic rehabilitation.

This textbook illustrates detailed instruction in the provision of advanced fixed and removable prosthodontic care to both partially and completely edentulous patients respectively. The text comprises aspects of prosthodontic rehabilitation which are in line with the scope of most previous texts on the subject. Its 20 chapters cover areas ranging from genetics to psychological aspects of diagnosis and advanced treatment considerations such as pre-prosthetic surgery and post-surgical rehabilitation. Contemporary dental materials and assessment tools such as modern imaging techniques also fall within the scope of this book.

The text is illustrated throughout with colour photographs, graphs and diagrams to aid the reader in accessing the content. To this end all chapters are summarised and all subject matter is extensively referenced for each chapter.

This text allows the reader a detailed overview of the modalities available for the comprehensive care of patients in need of advanced prosthodontic rehabilitation such as post resection reconstruction and the restoration of congenital and acquired oral and perioral defects. Although some sections of the text, such as those concerning history and examination and management of inadequate denture prostheses, fall within the realm of the general dentist, the application of this text, I feel, is aimed principally at those practitioners who are involved in the care of patients with such advanced needs.

However, it is worth noting that we currently practise in a time when the population as a whole is ageing, and a greater proportion of our patients are retaining their teeth for longer, leading to the possibility of a more complex treatment need if and when a dentition fails at a more advanced age. As such, even though the subject matter of this book may not have a direct application to the majority of the patients seen in general dental practice, knowledge of its content is indeed pertinent to, and incumbent upon the general dentist and invaluable as a reference to those wishing to provide optimal care in advanced cases of prosthodontic rehabilitation.