Editor: Esther M. Wilkins. Contributing editor: Charlotte J. Wyche
Publisher: Wolters Kluwer | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins – 1147 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

I rarely comment on the price-versus-value proposition when reviewing books, but on this one, I must say that the purchasers are getting a huge bargain. This is a large book of more than a thousand pages covering numerous subjects within dentistry and dental hygiene. It has often been referred to as “the bible of dental hygiene,” and rightfully so.

With eight sections, 69 chapters and seven appendices, the amount of information available in this tome is immense. Its excellent organization and presentation of material is also very noteworthy. With all this, a price of several hundred dollars can easily be justified. But look at the unbelievably low current price of only $65.48.

The purchase price also includes a set of online resources for students and a separate set for instructors. Students get: videos that show techniques and procedures; a quiz bank; Stedman’s audio pronunciation guide for select clinical terms; and the entire text of this work fully searchable online.

Instructors get: a Brownstone test generator; PowerPoint presentations; lesson plans; image bank of all the images and tables in this book; and more.

These resources are accessible by scratching off a label on the inside front cover and getting a code, then using it on: http://thepoint.lww.com/Wilkins11e.

Thirty-three contributors provided articles on a myriad of topics and 22 experts in various areas of dentistry and dental hygiene reviewed the material prior to publication.

In order to get the most benefit from this book, I urge readers to carefully read the entire three-page Preface at the beginning of this book and follow instructions. You will develop a proper perspective and right frame of mind prior to using this book. Learn the following about this book: Objectives; Textbook Plan, including its Highlights and  Organization of the Textbook; Features of the New Edition (seven of them); the Student Workbook; Additional Resources (we named them above); and Acknowledgements.

To give you a brief overview of the contents of this book, let me merely mention the titles of its eight sections (under which you will find 69 chapters on many subjects):

  • Orientation to Clinical Dental Hygiene Practice
  • Preparation for Dental Hygiene Practice
  • Assessment
  • Dental Hygiene Diagnosis and Care Planning
  • Implementation: Prevention
  • Implementation: Treatment
  • Evaluation
  • Patients with Special Needs

In the Table of Contents, sections are named and under each one, chapter titles are given. Under each chapter, you will find topics that are covered. Should you want to study on a given topic in a particular chapter, simply turn to that page and start reading. It’s that simple.

Organization of material (topics) within chapters simply follows what is outlined in the Table of Contents. In the Chapter Outline at the beginning of each chapter, each topic is printed in bold, red letters in all-caps format. There are also subtopics for more detailed information.

You will find many study aids in the chapters, such as: boxes with color backgrounds containing key words and other information; colorful charts; tables with data outlined; and other features.

At the end of each chapter, you will find these tabs with information: Everyday Ethics; Documentation; Factors To Teach The Patient; and References, for further exploration.

Seven appendices useful to dentists and dental hygienists are presented at the end of this book: the first three are codes of ethics respectively of the American Dental Hygienists Association, the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, and the International Federation of Dental Hygienists.

Appendix IV contains guidelines for infection control in dental healthcare settings; Appendix V has average measurements of human teeth; Appendix VI outlines prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms in dental hygiene; and Appendix VII has charting symbols and standardized abbreviations useful for documenting dental hygiene care.

The editor, contributing editor, contributors and reviewers have done a monumental job in putting together this highly useful and usable volume on dental hygiene. It is a popular and widely used textbook and it is easy to see why. Its comprehensive coverage, its well-structured organization and its ease of use of material for rapid learning are just three of its outstanding characteristics.

It is no wonder that the people who put together this work are enjoying their success with this, its eleventh edition. That tells us a lot about its popularity in the dental profession.

The editor of this textbook Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD is connected with the department of periodontology at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also affiliated with the Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Dental Hygiene in the same city.

The contributing editor Charlotte J. Wyche, RDH, MS is with the department of periodontics and oral medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in Ann Arbor, Michigan.