Book review

Glass-ionomer materials, first introduced in the 1970s, play an important role in restorative dentistry today, in a wide variety of applications. In order to provide an in-depth review of this subject, the editor of this book, Dr Sharanbir Sidhu, has brought together eight experts in the field from across the world.

The book follows a logical order, starting with the history of glass-ionomer materials and their development at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist in London as part of work on the setting of dental silicate cements.

Chapter 2, by Michael Burrow from Melbourne, provides details of the physical properties of glass-ionomer materials before moving on to the clinically-relevant aspect of restoration longevity. This chapter includes a large table on the performance of glass-ionomers in non-carious cervical lesions (perhaps their most common use in the UK?), with the data indicating annual loss rates of 2.7% in a 13-year study and 2.4% in a 10-year evaluation.