N. Wilson, S. Gelbier. BDA price $6.95; pp 95 ISBN

9781291769166

This completes a current series of five transcripts recounting 'witness' seminars held at the BDA.

The BDA Museum and the Unit for the History of Dentistry at King's College London Dental Institute facilitated the seminars which offered a platform for participants to discuss their memories and experiences of the dental profession since the NHS was established in 1948. Other seminar subjects range from regulation of the dental profession to dental materials to the subject of this transcript: the dental media.

Participants in this seminar, from September 2012, included editors of current dental periodicals, many of whom also have impressive clinical backgrounds.

The aim of these 'fly on the wall' transcripts is to allow the reader a unique insight into dentistry that could not otherwise be gained. It hopes to create an 'archive of a living history of dentistry' made possible by the late Dr John McLean OBE who left a generous bequest to fund this unique study of the profession.

The opening section details a tribute to Dr John McLean, and then the transcript begins. This is one single bulk of text spanning the remaining 84 pages. There are no chapters to break up the text. This unusual format allows the reader to feel they are a part of the events, but does not readily provide natural breaks to stop reading without losing track of the discussion.

The occasionally lively dialogue touches on the benefit that dental periodicals have had within the profession over the years, and the perceptions that the public may have developed about the dental profession as a whole via information from the commercial media.

It is difficult to pinpoint who the target audience of this production is. There is a nostalgic element for dentists who may recall some of the older publications. The subject matter may at first seem less than exciting, but some may find that this is redeemed by the unconventional transcript style which reads easily, as long as you have the time to read it in one sitting!