Nothing but the tooth

  • B. K. B. Berkovitz
Elsevier price £45.99; pp 372 ISBN 9780123971906 | ISBN: 978-0-1239-7190-6

Nothing but the tooth: a dental odyssey is described by the author as a collection of information amassed throughout many years of research and teaching. I have read several of the author's books before and found his writing to be succinct, informative and conducive to learning. This book is no exception. From start to finish, it really is hard to put down. This may be because the book focuses mainly on dental topics that are not required to pass exams or influence clinical practice. The book takes the reader through a whole host of interesting dentally relevant areas and is not rivalled in any other text out there.

The book takes the reader through anatomical, anthropological and historical aspects of all things dental and everything in between. The author's passion and knowledge for his subject comes across with every turn of the page.

Chapters take you through the weird and wonderful dentitions of nature and how some more valuable forms were used for ornaments and decorative pieces. Topics covered include forensic testing related to the evolution of animals and locating origins of age old bodies dating back over 5,000 years.

Whilst the book is fascinating, I do, however, feel that it is lacking a little in some parts. The black and white photographs do not do justice to the text. Furthermore a lot of the anatomical photographs have no measure of scale to help the more uninformed reader. I realise some photos are rare and gifted for publication and cannot be altered but having colour where possible would really bring the most out of the book. I found one or two chapters a little hard going, most notably the highly scientific 'you are what you eat' section, which required a little perseverance. I knew a little about forensic dentistry from previous study and I felt this helped me through a long, perhaps slightly overcomplicated, section.

In summary, this book is crammed full of remarkable facts that make it a must read for anyone who has an interest in the broader subject matter. One never knows when the average weight of an elephant molar or which Nobel Prize winning dentists invented anaesthesia will come in handy. I highly recommend a read.