Textbook of human disease in dentistry

  • M. Greenwood,
  • R. A. Seymour &
  • J. G. Meechan
UK: Wiley-Blackwell price £39.99; pp 325 ISBN 9781405170338 | ISBN: 978-1-4051-7033-8

As the title suggests this book is presented as a reference textbook outlining important human disease in a context that is relevant to dentistry. To this end it is primarily aimed to be a resource for dental students. The well respected authors take a unique direction in integrating medicine, surgery, pharmacology, therapeutics, pathology and microbiology within one title.

The textbook is divided into 20 chapters, the majority of which are structured around individual systems of the body eg cardiovascular. A brief outline of anatomy and physiology is given and then the relevant pathological conditions are described. Each chapter then highlights clinical features and therapeutics and rounds off with the relevance of each condition to dental practice. The sections conclude tidily in this manner bringing together the management of and important complications in treating patients with common medical problems.

All the major physiological systems of the body are covered and in addition to this there are informative chapters concerning clinical history taking and sterilisation, disinfection and antiseptic techniques. It will be a boon to students to have clinical information such as this alongside the medicine and pharmacology. There are also chapters on child health and care of the elderly which are subjects often scantly covered in comparative texts but which are very relevant to daily general dental practice.

Generally each chapter gives sufficient depth of information to be useful for dental students and qualified practitioners alike. The clear structure of this book means it is successful as both a comprehensive textbook and as a resource to dip into when referencing individual conditions. The only downside to such an all-encompassing approach to medicine in dentistry is that in order to cover the subjects in detail there does have to be some compromises made in the depth of information presented. Some prior knowledge of physiology and medicine is also presumed and for pharmacology and therapeutics this is not a standalone text.

In conclusion the aim of this title has been achieved in providing an accessible and comprehensive textbook that will appeal to dentists at many stages in their career and is likely to become a student favourite.