Book review

From Volume 39, Issue 3, April 2012 | Page 187

Authors

Tif Qureshi

President, The British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

Articles by Tif Qureshi

Article

I'll get straight to the point − this book is superb.

At over 150 pages, many clinicians might feel a book on the ‘fundamentals of tooth colour and shade matching’ sounds like hard work and perhaps not relevant to general dentistry. However, there are two ways of looking at this subject matter. The book is subtitled ‘Shade matching and communication in esthetic dentistry’. One could easily assume that this is aimed at the high end of aesthetic and cosmetic dentistry and, to a degree, it is. The picture quality, the step-by-step case presentations and logical sequencing are a joy for any aesthetically-oriented dentist to read and visualize. However, I would argue that the appeal of a book like this should be far wider as, in truth, anyone who calls themselves a dentist should be able to understand shade matching and a degree of colour science. Every aspect of dentistry can be aesthetic and can be approached in the step-by-step manner which this book uses so well in several of its chapters.

Chapters that could be viewed as potentially overwhelming all contain a simple and concise recommended protocol list to summarize and focus on the practical skills any dentist will need when dealing with conventional shade matching (chapter 4); technology-based shade matching (chapter 5); material selection(chapter 6).

The book is completed with an excellent in-depth section (chapter 8) on predictable colour reproduction where a single case is broken into seven well-explained steps to ensure a perfect result for the ever challenging upper central incisor. It is then finished off with 12 beautifully photographed and stunning clinical cases, again with logically sequenced, high-resolution images that carry the message with stark visual clarity. Many of these images are unrelated to colour choice but helpfully outline the clinical procedures used in the cases shown, which was a welcome addition.

To summarize, I was hugely impressed by this book and commend the authors for producing a world-class guide on Shade Matching and Communication in Esthetic Dentistry that every aesthetic dentist should own and, in my opinion, the same goes for every general dentist too.