A restorative issue

The British Society for Restorative Dentistry (BSRD) celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding in May of this year, so it was a special honour when its members agreed to provide the articles for this commemorative issue of Dental Update. In that regard, great credit is due to Dr Ken Hemmings (a Dental Update Editorial Board member) who co-ordinated the authors and subjects.

General dentists spend a majority of their time either doing restorative dentistry for their patients or assessing whether they need to do it: in other words, when prevention fails, restorative dentistry may be indicated. This issue is therefore of much relevance to the readers of Dental Update. Readers will find articles on a wide variety of restorative dentistry topics, and a particularly authoritative piece on tooth wear (it could be retitled ‘all you need to know about tooth wear’), a patient problem which continues to rise and rise, often affecting a younger age group of patients, particularly in the UK:¹ these patients are therefore on a cycle of restoration and repair which they cannot get off. Two further articles will appear in the next two issues.

Following that, readers have a wealth of superb material, with a most thought-provoking article by Philip Ower who, I am pleased to announce, will shortly be joining the Editorial Board of Dental Update. The idea that implants were 100% successful only lasted for a short time after their much-heralded introduction, so the paper comparing implant success with that of the root-filled/crowned tooth is becoming more and more relevant, and a subject which many members of the public (most recently, my neighbour!) appear to be confused about. Ceramics are a central part of restorative dentistry: great therefore to have a paper by Terry Donovan (Dr Ceramics in dentistry!) and colleagues, with two prize-winning case reports and a look at trigeminal nerve injuries by Board Member Tara Renton (a world authority on the subject) and, finally, a paper reminding us that, no matter how brilliant the restorative dentistry is, the patient should be at the centre of it all.

Lastly, following the Minamata agreement in 2013, the use of amalgam changes on 1st July 2018, a momentous change which is explained towards the end of this issue, along with an information leaflet for patients. I very much hope that you appreciate this Restorative issue and all the efforts which have been made to bring it to you. Thanks again to all the contributors, and again to Ken Hemmings for co-ordinating the issue. I have enjoyed reading every word.