Orthodontics and The Long Climb: From Barber-Surgeons to Doctors of Dental Surgery

Orthodontics

CHRIS CHANG, DDS, PHD
W. EUGENE ROBERTS, DDS, PHD, DHC

3 volumes, available as electronic books ($299.99 each from iBooks or iTunes) or in hard cover (vols. I/II, 575 pages, $330; vol. III, 247 pages, $330). 2012.
Newton's A, Inc., Beethoven Orthodontic Center, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
info@newtonsa.com.tw.

Drs. Chris Chang and Eugene Rober ts, using Apple's iBooks Author e-publishing software, have combined text, photos, videos, video interviews, and illustrations to produce the most innovative, effective, convenient, and practical volumes the orthodontic profession has ever seen. It is one thing to read about the placement of temporary anchorage devices (TADs) or even to see still photographs, but it is an altogether different and amplified experience to see a clinician complete the procedure in a video linked to the written narrative. Such visual evidence dispels any doubts one might have about the nuances of the technique.

As an advertisement originally designed by Fred Barnard and first published in 1918 in the San Antonio Light said, "picture is worth a thousand words." (Barnard later attributed the aphorism to Confucius because he thought people would pay more attention to it, and, of course, they did.) If that maxim is true, then the fusion of media assembled by Drs. Chang and Roberts must be worth a million words. One can only imagine the challenges involved in amassing these excellent treatment records, much less producing the unsurpassed illustrations and the myriad video sequences. It is a tour de force of publishing ingenuity that deserves inclusion in every orthodontic library.

The authors have also made these iBooks available in hardcover editions with standard text, photos, and illustrations for those who prefer holding books and turning pages. But the paper versions lose the interactive dynamism and portability offered by an iPad, where the flick of a finger allows the reader to navigate from written narrative to illustration and then to video and forward to bibliography.

Volume I is intended as a clinical atlas, demonstrating innovative approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of outcomes. The first three chapters describe the ABO prescriptions for assessing the complexity of malocclusions and gauging treatment results. Thereafter, every case shown in the book is subjected to the ABO evaluation, making the presentations even more impressive. Subsequent chapters deal with palatally impacted canines, scissor bites, bimaxillary protrusions, high maxillary canine impactions, and treatment of high and low-angle malocclusions, anterior crossbites, and skeletal Class III cases.

Volume II's first four chapters cover various Class III malocclusions and their treatments. The following two chapters deal with open bites, while the next four offer therapies for Class I and II deep overbites. Four chapters provide detailed descriptions of soft-tissue treatments for sub-periosteal grafts and impacted teeth. The final two sections describe further applications of TADs. Each chapter is accompanied by an ample bibliography and a self-test.

Volume III, co-authored by Drs. John Lin and Johnny Liaw, is dedicated exclusively to Class III malocclusions. The first chapter, in which practical and useful recommendations are made for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning, is followed by descriptions of treatments for Class III siblings and twins with skeletal Class III conditions. Succeeding chapters deal with Class III open bites, asymmetries, hyperdivergent mandibles, molar retraction in all four quadrants, early intervention, and the paradigm shift that TADs now offer the profession, among other topics.

Briefly Reviewed by JCO:

The Long Climb: From Barber-Surgeons to Doctors of Dental Surgery

PHILIAS ROY GARANT, DMD

496 pages. $38. 2013.
Quintessence Publishing Co., Inc.,
4350 Chandler Drive, Hanover Park, IL 60133.
(800) 621-0387; www.quintpub.com.

More than a Who's Who, this book is an enlightening history of the pioneers of dentistry and its specialties from the ancient Egyptians forward. Supported by illustrations, entertaining anecdotes and quotes, and copious references, the text focuses on the controversies surrounding ethical treatment, early dental education, patents and quackery, and the introduction of new technologies.