The Orthodontic Treatment of Impacted Teeth

ADRIAN BECKER, BDS, LDS, DDO

2nd edition. 352 pages. $269. 2007.
Thieme Medical Publishing, 333 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001.
(800) 782-3488; www.thieme.com.

The first edition of Adrian Becker's book has become the principal reference in dentistry on the subject of impacted teeth. It is used by virtually every graduate orthodontic program in the world and by most practicing orthodontists as well. When my copy of the first edition disappeared recently, I went to Amazon.com to see if I could get a replacement. I almost passed out after seeing a resale price of $1,531.86 (yes, the decimal is in the right place). So valuable is this book to my work that even I, a dedicated cheapskate, considered paying the price. Fortunately for me and my credit card, Dr. Becker has come out with an affordable second edition.

The new version includes all the topics covered in the first edition, with the addition of five chapters on scientific and technological developments that have occurred over the last decade or so. Based on their years of experience, Dr. Becker and his colleagues at the Hadassah School of Dentistry of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem detail the various subtleties and nuances involved in managing impacted teeth.

In this helpful format, individual chapters are dedicated to general principles of diagnosis and treatment and radiography, followed by problems associated with each tooth. For example, Chapter 5 devotes 30 copiously illustrated pages to the etiologies, diagnosis, treatment planning, patient management, treatment, and prognosis of impacted maxillary central incisors.

Considering the significant amount of new material in this edition, it is hard to imagine any topic related to the orthodontic treatment of impacted teeth that Dr. Becker has not covered. The many high-quality color illustrations make the concepts presented in the text easy to understand and, more important, to implement.

The primary audience for this textbook is presumably graduate students and residents in orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and periodontology. Students of pediatric dentistry and general dentistry would also benefit greatly from reading the book. In fact, it is a necessity for any practicing orthodontist who endeavors to treat impactions. I give it my highest recommendation.

RGK