N. Wilson, S. Gelbier. BDA price $6.95; pp 114 ISBN

9781291769050

This book is part of a series of seminars that started in 2011, which have been transcribed into book form. The seminars were made possible by an honorable bequest from the late Dr John McLean, a highly respected dentist and scientist. He hoped to provide an inventive development that would benefit dentistry for future generations. This has certainly been achieved.

This seminar focuses on key issues and milestones that have evolved since the formation of the National Health Service in 1948. The book begins with a brief introduction to the seminar series, and the participants involved, each one a valued member of the dental profession.

Nairn Wilson, Dean of King's College London Dental Institute, chairs the seminar excellently. His aptitude for public speaking and knowledge of the profession make reading the transcription feel as if one was sitting within the seminar. He begins by outlining the purpose of the seminar and then opens the discussion up to its first contributor, who provides the reader with an insightful narrative of how and why the NHS was founded.

The discussion then goes on to cleverly map out the developments in the profession since 1948. Speakers with invaluable experience in their field put various topics forward for discussion. Many subjects stimulate an invigorating conversation between participants, with several of them sharing personal anecdotes and memories of their experiences.

Despite the book having no chapters or specific structure, the transcript keeps the reader enlightened with these personal stories, almost as if reading a diary from the early days of the NHS. Some of the interesting narrations shared include the controversy surrounding general anaesthetics in dental practice, what is was like to be a female dentist and the rise in specialisation and privatisation.

The vast changes in the NHS over the past 75 years are carefully highlighted in this seminar and I feel this book could easily be read in one sitting, as the reader is captivated by the personal recollections shared. Many of the situations dentists found themselves in are difficult to imagine for a newly qualified dentist like myself.

This book would be valuable to every member of the dental profession. It is truly one-of-a-kind, providing a unique archive of anecdotes and memoirs that would have been lost without Dr McLean's donation.