Book review

The notes from the series editor, Professor Brian Millar, commence by stating that aesthetic dentistry is a complex subject, requiring, in many ways, differing skills from those required for disease-focused clinical care. He adds, however, that aesthetic dentistry is part of everyday dentistry. Absolutely! Our patients are increasingly requesting the best aesthetics, not only in restorations in their anterior teeth, but also in their posterior teeth. I have no doubt that this trend will continue. This book is therefore highly relevant to general dental practice today.

Chapter one, by Michael Thomas, sets out the common clinical conditions requiring minimally invasive aesthetic intervention and begins with a most useful table on causes of discoloration. The cases illustrated are those which will be seen in everyday clinical practice in the UK – this is not a book for the abstract, one-off case.

Chapter two is a tour de force on all aspects of bleaching by Martin Kelleher, outlining how hydrogen peroxide works, the safety of carbamide peroxide, causes of sensitivity, and managing patient expectations, among other matters. In the typical non-confrontational style which we have come to know and love from Martin, he advises the reader that toothpaste can only remove superficial stain and that the maximum hydrogen peroxide level allowed in toothpastes (0.1%) is useless for bleaching!