cover image The Oral Report: The Consumer's Common-Sense Guide to Better Dental Care

The Oral Report: The Consumer's Common-Sense Guide to Better Dental Care

Jerry F. Taintor, Mary J. Taintor. Facts on File, $18.95 (194pp) ISBN 978-0-8160-1392-0

This articulate, authoritative sourcebook encourages lay readers to become alert consumers of dental health care. The first of three sections discusses the patient and general dentistry: how to choose a dentist (cheap vs. inexpensive), tooth structure, brushing, flossing, fillings, X-rays, anesthetics and treatment during pregnancy. The second section deals with specialties and specific diseases and problems: endodontics (root-canal therapy), oral cancer, oral surgery, orthodontics, pedodontics or pediatric dentisty, gum disease, crowns, bridges, dentures, bonding and bleaching. The last section addresses various trends, fears and issues in dentistry: fluoride, malpractice, advertising, insurance, dental phobias, tooth-grinding and the TMJ syndrome, and dental fees based on national, regional and local surveys. Appendixes list dental schools and professional societies, and provide a glossary of terms. Jerry Taintor is a practicing dentist and chairman of endodontics at the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry. His wife, Mary Jane, manages a workshop program for professional seminars. Illustrations not seen by PW. (February 25)