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99 J. Dent.

1989;17: 99-100

Book Reviews
Section Editor: P. N. Hirschmann

Oral Medicine: Colour Aids in Dentistry. dentistry and, as an insight into these, the author quotes
C. Scully and R. A. Cawson. Pp. 156. 1988. Edinburgh, Tulley, an English orthodontist! He has likened the
Churchill Livingstone. Softback, f9.95. treatment of malocclusion to playing a never-ending game
of chess with the devil. The dentist enters into the game
This is the second in this publishers dental series of after it has started, not always able to guess what moves
Colour Aids, adding to Cawson’s earlier ‘Oral Pathology’. have been made previously. The rules of the game, that is
The book is in a 5-by-7-inch format with 172 high-quality the rules of bone biology, neurophysiology, muscle-
colour pictures presented on each right-hand page; the learning, psychology and the other factors, are not all
left-hand page contains the text in note-format for each chosen by the clinician and change as the game
condition. It is entering an already crowded market-place: progresses or conditions alter. There are no winners: it is
there are at least seven other similar books (Scully is part- enough just to keep the game going. Clinical goals are
author of one) and is in direct competition with the not necessarily normal or ideal. Rather they are pragmatic
Pocket Picture-Guide by Lamey and Lewis. Its main and determined by the state of the individual patient. The
difference from the others is in describing diseases by best occlusion is that which adapts best through time,
site. Aimed at undergraduates, postgraduates and providing continuing functional homeostasis. To
practitioners, it can only ever help the latter by the understand and achieve these goals takes much study
‘picture matching’ approach. Undergraduates and and clinical experience but will no doubt be assisted by
postgraduates may find this useful for revision prior to Professor Moyer’s admirable handbook.
examinations as, for its size, it contains much background M. J. Trenouth
detail. Its strong point is the quality of the pictures. On
balance, I believe, this book may be useful to those who
learn best through ‘pictures’; others, however, who like a A Colour Atlas of the Tongue in Clinical Diagnosis.
little more meat on their bones will find this book D. W. Beaven and S. E. Brooks. Pp. 256. 1988. London,
wanting. Wolfe Medical. Softback, f 14.95.
A. S. High
The aim of this atlas is to draw attention to the omission
from almost all modern medical textbooks of the time-
Handbook of Orthodontics, 4th edition. honoured procedure of scrutiny of the tongue in routine
Robert E. Moyers. Pp. 577. 1988. London, Year Book general physical examination. To this end the authors, the
Medical Publishers (Wolfe Medical). Hardback, f37.50. first of whom is a general physician in New Zealand of
many years’ clinical experience, have assembled 415
This is the 4th edition of a well-known textbook of pictures of both normal and pathological tongues.
orthodontics first published in 1958. The author is The contents are organized into 19 headings which
Professor of Orthodontics at the University of Michigan range from normal and developmental abnormalities
and he has solicited contributions from ten other well- through such conventional disease classifications as
known authorities without any loss of continuity of style ulcerations, infections, blistering conditions and tumours
or purpose. Much of the scientific data included in the to such strange chapters as the ‘Portcullis’ syndrome
text has been derived from the annual symposia held at (which is simply the dropping down of loose upper
the world-famous Centre for Human Growth and complete dentures during sleep). Each chapter begins
Development at Ann Arbor, together with the longitudinal with a short introductory text followed by illustrations
growth studies performed there. The book is divided into with adjacent legends and ends with an up-to-date and
three sections on growth and development, diagnosis, pertinent reference list.
and treatment. The basic scientific material in the first As is to be expected from Wolfe Medical Publications,
relates to the later clinical sections with extensive cross- the quality of colour illustrations is generally of a high
referencing. The scientific basis for clinical diagnosis and standard. The relevance of a number of these, however, is
treatment is demonstrated clearly and Professor Moyers far from convincing. The pathology attributed to several
is not slow to highlight deficiencies in our present figures has to be accepted with the eye of faith and could
knowledge. equally be attributed to normal variations. Conversely,
While this book will serve as an excellent reference for some grossly abnormal appearances such as the
the practising orthodontist, he also intends it as an sublingual keratosis described as lichen planus would
introductory text for students and a basic orthodontic very much worry the present reviewer. If there is one
resource for the non-specialist dentist. Although not major criticism of the work it is the superabundance of
sufficiently concise for the UK undergraduate, it is well illustrations. A more limited selection of more classical
suited to the latter, since it does not assume any presentations would be less confusing and more helpful
specialised knowledge. to the inexperienced examiner. The relevance of some
The goals of orthodontics should, ideally, be those of all textual comments is also obscure. Although race and

0 1989 Butterworth & Co. Publishers Ltd.


0300-57 12f 89/020099-02 903GO

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