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Veterinary dentistry
488
BRITISH VETERINARY JOURNAL, 142,5
tion and a change in the common prejudice that camel .farming is synonymous with under-development . Professor G . M . Berlyne in his foreword to the book states that Professor Yagil has never accepted the pseudoscientific anecdotal statements which frequently surround the camel but has painstakingly sought the facts . This monograph is testimony to the author's dedication . There are controversial and contentious assertions, but these enhance the text and should help to encourage further basic quality research on the camel . A.
J . HIGGINS
Veterinary Dentistry
E . Eisenmenger and K . Zetner . Philadelphia : Lea and Febiger, and Beckenham : Quest-Meridien . 1985 . 165 pp . »33 .50 : $48 .50 . Veterinarians appear to be making a concerted effort to develop dentistry as a clinical speciality . There was a conspicuous absence of literature following Colyer's Variations and Diseases of the Teeth of Animals published in 1936 . However, the last two years have seen the arrival of Concepts in Veterinary Dentistry (Tholen), Veterinary Dentistry (Harvey) and now, under the same title, a contribution by two of Europe's leading authorities . Possibly the sudden rush of interest in dentistry caught the authors unawares, since they incorrectly state in the preface that their version of Veterinary Dentistry is the first comprehensive book on the subject . At a time when general practitioners and university libraries must make their purchases against a background of increasing choice but shrinking budgets, it is difficult not to apply strict selection criteria to the books on offer, and in the field of veterinary dentistry Harvey has set the standard . Eisenmenger and Zetner's Veterinary Dentistry is a hard-backed volume of 165 pages with a bright gold cover. The text has clearly been translated into English from the authors' native tongue and this may explain the rigid structure of the sentences and the occasionally misplaced turn of phrase . The printing is bold and clear, and the illustrations, which take the form of line drawings, and half-tone and colour plates, are first class . In a field where radiographs are so important in diag-
nosis, it is surprising that more have not been included, particularly when those which have used have been reproduced so successfully . Dentistry is a highly practical subject, but the authors' emphasis on the equipment which they favour reads like an advertisement for a leading European supplier and most of the twenty-one pages devoted to instrumentation will be useless to British readers . Although there is inevitably much discussion of the techniques of restoration and conservation of teeth it is disappointing to find that many of the instruments described in the chapter on technology are never mentioned again, or it is presumed that readers will know how to use them . `Dr Gouser's mummification globules' are reported to be suitable for filling pulp canals in horses, but we are not told how . Much use is made of Thread-Mate System pins, but the technique for their introduction into dental tissues is taken for granted . The authors' strongest reputation is in the fields of small animal dental restoration and periodontology, and readers should benefit from their experience which is so excellently presented. In other aspects Eisenmenger and Zetner's Veterinary Dentistry makes somewhat staccato progress jumping from sections of obvious confidence to others of weakness . The sections on equine dentistry suggest limited experience and might better be omitted from future editions . The authors' claim that their text is comprehensive is exaggerated . Although dental extraction may appear an admission of defeat in the light of beautifully illustrated preservation techniques, two and a quarter pages of unillustrated text is hardly sufficient to dismiss the major dental activity of the practitioner . Apart from brief comments on stomatitis and oral trauma the authors limit their subject matter to the teeth and periodontal tissues ; readers must therefore look elsewhere for help in the general field of medicine and surgery of the oral cavity . Eisenmenger and Zetner's Veterinary Dentistry is modestly priced considering the quality of its presentation, but for a comprehensive text on comparative veterinary dentistry which covers the broader fields of stomatology and oral surgery Harvey's version remains the better buy . J . G . LANE
BRITISH VETERINARY JOURNAL, 142,5
tion and a change in the common prejudice that camel .farming is synonymous with under-development . Professor G . M . Berlyne in his foreword to the book states that Professor Yagil has never accepted the pseudoscientific anecdotal statements which frequently surround the camel but has painstakingly sought the facts . This monograph is testimony to the author's dedication . There are controversial and contentious assertions, but these enhance the text and should help to encourage further basic quality research on the camel . A.
J . HIGGINS
Veterinary Dentistry
E . Eisenmenger and K . Zetner . Philadelphia : Lea and Febiger, and Beckenham : Quest-Meridien . 1985 . 165 pp . »33 .50 : $48 .50 . Veterinarians appear to be making a concerted effort to develop dentistry as a clinical speciality . There was a conspicuous absence of literature following Colyer's Variations and Diseases of the Teeth of Animals published in 1936 . However, the last two years have seen the arrival of Concepts in Veterinary Dentistry (Tholen), Veterinary Dentistry (Harvey) and now, under the same title, a contribution by two of Europe's leading authorities . Possibly the sudden rush of interest in dentistry caught the authors unawares, since they incorrectly state in the preface that their version of Veterinary Dentistry is the first comprehensive book on the subject . At a time when general practitioners and university libraries must make their purchases against a background of increasing choice but shrinking budgets, it is difficult not to apply strict selection criteria to the books on offer, and in the field of veterinary dentistry Harvey has set the standard . Eisenmenger and Zetner's Veterinary Dentistry is a hard-backed volume of 165 pages with a bright gold cover. The text has clearly been translated into English from the authors' native tongue and this may explain the rigid structure of the sentences and the occasionally misplaced turn of phrase . The printing is bold and clear, and the illustrations, which take the form of line drawings, and half-tone and colour plates, are first class . In a field where radiographs are so important in diag-
nosis, it is surprising that more have not been included, particularly when those which have used have been reproduced so successfully . Dentistry is a highly practical subject, but the authors' emphasis on the equipment which they favour reads like an advertisement for a leading European supplier and most of the twenty-one pages devoted to instrumentation will be useless to British readers . Although there is inevitably much discussion of the techniques of restoration and conservation of teeth it is disappointing to find that many of the instruments described in the chapter on technology are never mentioned again, or it is presumed that readers will know how to use them . `Dr Gouser's mummification globules' are reported to be suitable for filling pulp canals in horses, but we are not told how . Much use is made of Thread-Mate System pins, but the technique for their introduction into dental tissues is taken for granted . The authors' strongest reputation is in the fields of small animal dental restoration and periodontology, and readers should benefit from their experience which is so excellently presented. In other aspects Eisenmenger and Zetner's Veterinary Dentistry makes somewhat staccato progress jumping from sections of obvious confidence to others of weakness . The sections on equine dentistry suggest limited experience and might better be omitted from future editions . The authors' claim that their text is comprehensive is exaggerated . Although dental extraction may appear an admission of defeat in the light of beautifully illustrated preservation techniques, two and a quarter pages of unillustrated text is hardly sufficient to dismiss the major dental activity of the practitioner . Apart from brief comments on stomatitis and oral trauma the authors limit their subject matter to the teeth and periodontal tissues ; readers must therefore look elsewhere for help in the general field of medicine and surgery of the oral cavity . Eisenmenger and Zetner's Veterinary Dentistry is modestly priced considering the quality of its presentation, but for a comprehensive text on comparative veterinary dentistry which covers the broader fields of stomatology and oral surgery Harvey's version remains the better buy . J . G . LANE