DEPARTMENT
OF REVIEWS Edited by
A11 inquiries regarding infmmation the respeotive a&hors. Articles addressed to Dr. J. A. Salmuvn~,
Comprehensive
Textbook
DR.J.
AND
ABSTRACTS York City
A. SALZMANN,N~~
on reviews and abstracts should be direotea to or boob for review in this department should be 654 Ma&m
Ave.,
New
York,
New
York
10061.
of Psychiatry
Edited by Alfred M. Freedman and Harold I. Kaplan, assisted by Helen X. Kaplan. Baltimore, 1967, Williams and Wilkins Company. 1,666 pages. Price, $24.75.
This text has no less than 174 contributors. The subjects covered range from the history of psychiatry to the basic behavioral sciences of psychology and psychopathology. Psychiatric syndromes are presented in more than one third by Sol J. of the text. A chapter in this area is on “Psychiatry in Dentistry” Ewen. In a chapter on “Nail Biting and Thumb Sucking” by Chester 31. Pierce, M.D., thumb-sucking is recognized as a common habit disturbance of body manipulation. One fifth of all children, Pierce estimates, suck their thumbs past the age of 6 years. The statement that most authorities feel that “the chances of developing malocclusion from thumb sucking are slight” is not one with which this reviewer can agree. Orthodontists are familiar not only with dental malocclusion caused by thumb-sucking but also with deformation of the alveolar process extending into the palate which results from the pressure of the thumb when sucking is practiced consistently by t,he child over a long period. Ewen, in the chapter on “Psychiatry in Dentistry, ” explores the psychologic and physiologic elements operative in the dental patient which may initiate or follow in the wake of dental disease. Among the psychophysiologic mechanisms that can play a provocative role in the etiology of dental disease a.re disturbances in salivary flow, endocrine function, increased susceptibility to infection, and circulatory disturbances. The discussion on temporomandibular malfunction is of special interest to orthodontists, since dental malocclusion frequently is an etiologic factor. We can agree with Ewen that ‘Lacljustnlent of the occlusion should be done very cautiously, for varying the bite may serve to further center the patient’s attention to his mouth.” An occlusal neurosis may thus be triggered. An extensive discussion on the psychodynamics of periodontal disease is presented. The psychologic significance of teeth and tooth loss is discussed. We cannot agree with Ewen that “only two-finger sucking and the presence of adenoids when they impede breathing produce facial and dental deformities.” It is not the number of fingers sucked but, rather, the frequency, intensity, and duration of the sucking that produce dentofacial deviations. 863
Among the: topics discussctd 1)~. Kwc~i is tllr rolt! of 111~Il101llii ill ])s)-(*ll<1sexual derelopment. Treatment for l/1(3 clliminatioll <)I’ (Il’ill hahits is illclucltlcl. Occlusal mannerisms that result wticbn c~hildrcn or acl~lls l)ra~tic*c~(~~~ri:iitl (‘(‘centric mandibular positions anti tootIt p tessures that disturb the c~c~lusiott 01’ the teeth and can affeet the health of the pcriodontium have IIO~.rc~c~c~iv(~(1 duct attention. Orthodontists will find thcb text provocative informalivct. TIl(> chapters dealing with the handlin g of children, whc$Iirr from the psyc+ioIogicr or t,he psychodynamic approach to oral pathologic aspec*ts, kll bc founti of special value. iltl
Improving
Dental
Practice
Through
Preventive
By J. I,. Bernier uad J. C. Xt~hkr. pany. 378 pages. Price, $17.50.
St. huis,
Measures l%ti,
7’hf
C’. 1’. Moshy
Corn-
Combined opinions of many authorities on various aspects of caries prevention, including nutrition, fluoride therapy, dentifrices, pedodontics, periodontics, ort,hodontics, prosthodontics, surgery, and general physical fitness, aro presented. The claim t.hat “we are literally what. WC eat” is stressed as being as important in the prevention of dental problems as in general health. Under “Cause and Control of Dental Caries,” it is stated that caries is primarily “initiated and sustained by acid demineralization of the inorganic content of susceptible tooth st.rucfure” and that the control of caries is best achieved by eliminating the cause and establishing normal control mechanisms. These include caries removal, topical fluoride applications, patient. counseling, diet, oral hygiene, and salivary, systemic, and familial factors. Success depends mainly upon what t,he patient, does for himself and to a large extent also on proper dent,ist-patient counseling. topical fluoridation, is thoroughly covered. Fluoride therapy, including While sodium fluoride is a caries-preventive agent in children3 stannous fluoride may be of benefit to all ages in the population and other fluorides, while they may show promise as anticariogcnic agents, require additional clinical evaluation before their role in the caries-prevention program pan be det,ermined and their use recommended. Eventually dental caries may be completely controlled by mcans of a prophylactic paste of stannous fluoride for topical application togethcr with a calcium pyrophosphate dentifrice and optimal water fluoridation. Since the American Dental Association formaI1.v recognized a commercially advertised dentifrice as having “therapc>utic value” in the prevention of decalcification many manufacturers are competing for other chemical agents which may be superior to stannous fluoride for the control of dental decay. Chapter VII, on preventive pedodontics, deals with the loss of teeth from dental caries, tooth shifting, the necessiby of space maintenance, and the advisability of early and diligent dental prophylaxis. Gingivitis and periodontal disease lead to early tooth loss, and thus preventive periodontics also becomes an