January, 2003
Textbook of Orthodontics (Book Review)
Abraham B. Lifshitz D.D.S., M.S.
Textbook of Orthodontics
By Samir E. Bishara
592 pages, 900 B&W Illustrations, $ 74.00
W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA
From time to time, an orthodontic textbook appears that demands professional readership as well as ownership. The new Textbook of Orthodontics by Samir E. Bishara belongs in that category.
Dr. Bishara, of the University of Iowa, has enlisted not only faculty members of his own venerable institution, but outstanding educators and clinicians from around the world to develop a textbook that is as useful to the practicing orthodontist as it is to students.
The text has 30 chapters divided into six logical sections:
Growth and Development consists of eight chapters that describe the morphological and dental development from the embryological stage through adulthood. Dr. Bishara devotes an entire chapter to the old neglected subject of cleft lip and palate. This feature alone is worth the cost of the book.
Diagnosis has five chapters that evaluate the various facial and dental relations necessary for arriving at a proper diagnosis. This section devotes great attention to cephalometric analysis as well as to arch length discrepancies. An entire chapter describes the Iowa Longitudinal Cephalometric Standards that qualify and quantify patients’ developments by gender and age and enables clinicians to use the data in their diagnoses and treatment plans.
Appliances devotes three chapters to edgewise appliances, bracket bonding, debonding and biomechanics. The chapter on how orthodontic appliances work by Dennis Britto and Robert Isaacson offer orthodontists an unusually good explanation of an often misunderstood feature of orthodontic therapy.
Treatment and Treatment Considerations consists of seven chapters that discuss orthodontic therapy for primary, mixed and permanent dentitions in three dimensions.
Other Aspects Related to Treatment offers three chapters dealing with patient oral hygiene, behavioral aspects of treatment, root resorption and tissue changes that occur during orthodontic therapy.
Orthodontics and Adjunct Treatment has four chapters that deal with orthodontic treatment of craniomandibular disorders, dental and facial asymmetries, surgical orthodontics and a multidisciplinary approach to adult adjunctive therapy.
Each chapter presents a list of key terms, shaded boxes with brief summaries of relevant aspects, copious and useful references along with a chapter summary. The book contains more than 900 excellent black and white illustrations.
Readers will search in vain for a more relevant or better documented text that arranges its material in such a reasonable and logical fashion. This book belongs in every orthodontist’s library.
Reviewed by:
Abraham B. Lifshitz D.D.S., M.S.
Professor, Graduate Orthodontic Program, Intercontinental University, College of Dentistry,Mexico City, Mexico. * Editor in Chief, The Orthodontic CYBERjournal (OC-J).
