Marc Bernard Ackerman, DMD
142 pages, 233 illustrations. $75. 2007.
Blackwell Munksgaard
2121 State Ave.
Ames, IA 50014
(515) 292-0140; www.blackwellpublishing.com.
An orthodontic publication occasionally challenges reviewers to define it as either a textbook or an atlas. This volume by Marc Ackerman is such a book. It's really a Zen perspective of what we do, why we do it, and how we do it, as well as a primer on how we can enrich our own professional lives and the lives of the patients we treat.
Enhancement Orthodontics is a high-minded book, firmly rooted in bioethics and modern interpretations of our relationship and responsibilities to individual patients and parents. On the other hand, it also provides sound, prudent, and productive clinical "road maps" that begin even before the orthodontic examination and are followed through the interpretation of records, treatment planning and implementation, and retention. The chapter on communications should be standard reading for every orthodontic resident.
The text is well written and surprisingly succinct for such an ambitious review of clinical practice. I was constantly underlining sentences and paragraphs to allow later perusal of the author's thinking on orthodontic treatment and clinical management.
Any orthodontist or resident who is genuinely interested in providing meaningful treatment to his or her patients while understanding the important dynamics that are woven together in a sensible modern philosophy, free from the nonproductive tyranny of dogma or gadgetry, should read this book. What a refreshing contribution to the science and art of orthodontics.
ELLIOTT M. MOSKOWITZ, DDS, MSD
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