Small Animal Dental, Oral & Maxillofacial Disease: A Color Handbook is a well-written addition to the bookshelves of general practitioners. The book is laid out in a logical and easy-to-read format with the first 3 chapters discussing Anatomy and Physiology, the Oral Exam, and Dental Radiology. The initial chapters provide a good foundation in the understanding of anatomy and terminology which ensures proper communication between veterinary professionals to avoid confusion of location of pathology. The Oral Exam chapter details on how to do a proper oral examination during every stage of dental treatment (awake and anesthetized exams) and covers step-by-step what practitioners need to look for during every oral exam to identify even the subtlest pathology. The section discussing how to properly classify periodontal disease pathology (furcation and mobility) is good and provides guidelines to follow for more consistent charting.
There is a chapter focused on Pathology in the Pediatric Patient; the remaining chapters are categorized by anatomical location: Hard Tissue, Gingiva, Oral Mucosa, Muscles, Bones and Joints, and the Salivary System. In these chapters, each condition is broken down into Definition, Etiology and Pathogenesis, Clinical Features, Differential Diagnosis, Diagnostic Tests, Management and Key Points. There is good flow in the discussion of each condition and there are several pictures (and radiographs when applicable) to go with every condition. Multiple high-quality images are helpful as pathology can look slightly different among patients with the same condition.
The index is thorough and includes layman’s terms which help for searching a condition that you may not know the scientific term for. For example: CUPS, Kissing Lesions, and Stomatitis all refer to the same pages in this text.
The book is focused on canine and feline dentistry but there is a brief review on rodent and lagomorph dentition in the first chapter.
Overall this book would be a great addition for the general practitioner and veterinary technologist and would be frequently used in practices that do dentistry. It is a compact book that has a lot of information to help you identify pathology and direct your treatment plan in a timely manner.