Article
This is the sixth edition and eighth iteration of a textbook that has been in existence since the late 1960s. The authors have progressed the mission of the original primary editor and author, Tom Graber, by continuing to provide a text that can be used worldwide, with a focus on the integration of the existing evidence base with clinical practice. It is a text written not only to support orthodontic educators and trainees, but those orthodontic specialists wanting to keep updated on current concepts and continued professional development. Keeping abreast with the current evidence base is difficult due to the upsurge of orthodontic-related research being carried out globally. The editors have acknowledged this by expanding their editorial team to include Greg Huang, and by enlisting the help of authors beyond the American borders.
The textbook is quite hefty. To help with this, and in keeping with the times, the entire text is available in eBook format (Expert Consult). The electronic format is easy to download and is user friendly. As a trainee, it is very useful to have immediate access to the eBook for quick reference on a mobile device. The eBook format has also allowed the editors to condense the hardcopy of the text by having three online-only chapters. There is online video content (on ‘the upper airway, cranial morphology and sleep apnoea’), however, I found these difficult to follow without any accompanying audio (used through an Apple device). The editors comment that the eBook format gives the opportunity for material to be updated in the future, and as such the sixth edition may be the last one offered in print.
The book is organized into seven parts which follow a logical sequence. The expanded chapter on ‘Psychological aspects of diagnosis and treatment’ is particularly interesting as this is an area that is not always so well covered in other textbooks. Similarly, the updated chapter on the periodontal-orthodontic interface provides coverage of a subject that is often scantily addressed in other texts. The two new chapters covering ‘Orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning with cone beam computed tomography’ and ‘Upper airway, cranial morphology and sleep apnoea’ are welcome additions, providing thorough discussion on two currently popular subject areas. The chapters on ‘Lingual appliance treatment’ and ‘Clear aligner treatment’ have been re-written, with the latter especially providing comprehensive and critical discussion. Part five of the text includes new chapters, all of which are extremely useful. These include comprehensive discussions on the management of impactions, the management of dental injuries, iatrogenic effects of orthodontic treatment and approaches to accelerating tooth movement.
This textbook has achieved what it set out to do – it provides a comprehensive discussion, with mostly decent illustrations, on both traditional and contemporary orthodontic subjects, integrating an up-to-date evidence base with clinical practice. From a UK trainee perspective, I would highly recommend the text to all trainees from their third year of training. I think it would also be very useful to all educators and those in specialist practice as a useful reminder of the ‘traditional’ subjects and as a means of keeping abreast with the emerging evidence on contemporary subjects.