Preface

This book includes important information for comprehensive treatment planning for a wide variety of dental procedures. Written by internationally recognized oral health specialists, this book offers information on revised concepts of oral diseases and disorders, including insights and diagnostics for each category. Readers will learn about radiology for diagnosis, retrospective studies, and planning considerations for periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, and restorative dentistry. Additionally, the book includes practical guidelines for detecting child abuse within the dental practice, as well as the basics of statistical methodologies in dentistry.

The first section discusses treatment modalities for impacted molars as well as the radiology of developmental defects. Chapters in this section include a wealth of updated clinical information. The interesting use of radiographs to explore variations in periodontal status among different gender groups is also a focus of this section. The subsequent section provides in-depth coverage of pertinent endodontic and restorative clinical concepts and dental management techniques. Chapters address regenerative endodontic procedures as well as restorations of endodontically treated teeth. Another interesting concept discussed within this section is the use of zirconia as a restorative material.

Zirconia has been overlooked as a restorative dental material for many decades. It consists of zirconium dioxide, which has maximum mechanical strength and fracture resistance when compared to all other non-metallic materials. Besides its high strength, zirconia is widely favored for its superior surface smoothness. Despite these beneficial characteristics, zirconia is not as widely used as it could be. This is likely due to cost and knowledge. Most local dental laboratories cannot afford to invest in high-tech, computerized, advanced CAD/CAM systems needed for clinical procedures using zirconia. Additionally, these laboratories do not have enough skilled or knowledgeable personnel to utilize this new technology. However, this has slowly started to change as clinicians learn about this material and begin investing in the technology linked to the usage of zirconia.

Another salient point in dentistry is dental trauma. The role of a dental hygienist becomes key in scenarios of dental trauma, as they often are the first points of care in such scenarios. As such, they are key players in emergency treatment modalities that could ensure success of subsequent endodontic or restorative procedures in cases of dental trauma. Dental trauma is not always accidental, however, and this brings us to the role of all oral healthcare professionals in detecting cases of abuse. Cases of abuse usually pertain to young children who have no means of self-defense and almost always have nowhere to turn for help.

It is only recently that society has become increasingly aware of the problem of child abuse across all socioeconomic groups. Abuse often results in immeasurable tragedies involving the emotional, physical, or cognitive impairment of a child that often has far-reaching consequences and impacts on healthy adulthood. The wellbeing and safety of some children across the world are threatened daily by neglect and child abuse. All oral healthcare professionals thus have a key role to play in recognizing and reporting abuse cases. Creating awareness of how to properly recognize abuse, especially child abuse, is critically and legally important to all oral healthcare professionals globally.

Finally, since epidemiology and public health in oral healthcare are about monitoring general oral health at the population level, the final chapter focuses on probability and sampling in dentistry. It highlights how clinicians can understand the bigger picture of oral health within their respective communities and populations.

I sincerely hope that this book provides readers with the helpful knowledge it intends to bring forth.

> **Aneesa Moolla** University of Witwatersrand, Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, Johannesburg, South Africa

Section 1

Oral Medicine, Periodontology and Radiology
