R. M. Palmer, M. Ide, P. D. Floyd. British Dental Association price £40.00 BDA members; £70.00 non-members; pp 128 ISBN

9781907923067

This hard cover book comes from the clinical guide series and is written by senior staff and specialists with a plethora of letters suffixing their names from King's College London Dental Institute, as well as a private periodontal practitioner employed by Periodontics UK.

As the preface acknowledges, the period of time between the first and third editions of this book is 17 years, however, the basic outline of treatment for periodontal disease has remained generally the same, although this edition more strongly emphasises the link between systemic and periodontal disease as well as updating the reader of more contemporary thinking in terms of the pathogenesis and surgical treatment of periodontal disease.

The book brilliantly summarises in 128 pages the aetiology, classification and treatment of both the classic periodontal diseases and also the acute or infective forms whilst also - in the chapter entitled 'Effective communication with patients to improve motivation' - giving significant weight to the communication of this pathology to the patient with empathy and without the use of jargon. This edition is divided into 12 chapters each beginning with an 'in brief' box, which is clearly shaded in purple and summarises the key points from the chapter.

Throughout there are clear, excellently labelled photographs including those demonstrating the use of various periodontal scaling instruments, flow charts, tables and radiographs, as well as example proformas for anatomical periodontal charting, disease information in basic and 'higher level' terms and bleeding on probing charts. At the close of each chapter there are suggestions for further reading split into systematic review and background literature so that the evidence base for each point can be clearly located.

The chapters encompassing multidisciplinary integrated treatment and patient presentations are particularly helpful as they include case reports and examples of how to provide patients with information about what their treatment will involve, whether this be superficial/deep cleaning with or without the addition of adjunctive therapy or surgery.

As a recently qualified dentist I can safely say that this book acts as the only resource I require on a daily basis to provide patients with detailed and evidence-based information about periodontal disease and would be equally helpful for the trainee dentist or general dental practitioner as well as those newly starting in secondary care.