Article
Fundamentals of Fixed Prosthodontics 4th edn
This book will not fail to please those clinicians who are already converts to this particular brand of dentistry. It has an air of quality about it, which is to be expected from the Quintessence publishers. It is a heavy book in physical terms and it is a heavy book in clinical terms. I read through the do-it-yourself diagrams that almost reminded me of an IKEA approach to fixed prosthodontics. It is an excellent instruction booklet with a step-by-step guide on how to execute those difficult fixed prosthodontic procedures. The diagrams are simple and in ‘several shades of grey’ that allow you to move through the process of either preparing the crown or setting up the casts on an articulator. It is not an exciting read but more a ‘dentistry by numbers’ approach. It is very mechanistic in its approach and this is borne out by some of the statements. For example, it is stated that ‘rampant caries can be brought under control by glass ionomer’, the three-quarter crown is very much alive and there is a detailed description of pin holes to keep restorations in place.
I was a little taken aback that there was a series of pictures on how to load a silicone syringe. Surely this is the domain of the manufacturer or assistant. Whilst the clinician is shown, in other parts of the book, how to undertake some very precise restorations on teeth, there is also a chapter on how to assemble and use a silicone syringe. There is much that the dental technician will enjoy in this book and some chapters are illustrated well and will assist in laboratory communication. The advent of CAD/CAM receives a mention but not in great detail and this is disappointing. There are more evidence-based references than previous editions but this is still not at a level which provides a critical reading approach to the text. Once again the ‘craft’ of preparing the tooth wins out compared with the clinical evidence of whether such an approach is durable and in the patient's best interests.
So, to sum up, a great book with lots of detail and it does exactly what you expect it to do on the cover. However, the world is changing, disease is changing, technology is changing and so are dentists and technicians. These changes are slowly taking place and, whilst this book will sell and still be a reference point, its days are numbered and the present edition does not convince the reviewer that enough change in the content has taken place to allow the next Shillingburg to survive the pace of change that is taking place.