JOURNAL OF DENTISTRY AND DENTAL MEDICINE (ISSN:2517-7389)

The advent of the 690 page 4^th edition of this work fourteen years after its 454 page third edition in 2003 reflects the widening scope of oral pathology into oral medicine over the last duodenary. The silhouetted male and female heads on the cover of this hefty 2.7 kilogram (5.9 lbs) tome encompasses a treasury of oral lesions of encyclopedic encompassment. The heavy paper stock on which it is printed has provided for superb high resolution photographic images of the pathological lesions depicted.

The format of the book is composed of four segments: the main body, an extensive reference section, an appendix and a 20-page index. The main body is comprised of 43 divisions covering normal mucosa, developmental defects, mechanical injuries, chemical burns, thermal and electricity lesions, metal and foreign material deposits, radiation and chemotherapy complications, allergic reactions and drug-induced oral lesions. Manifestations of diseases of the gingiva, periodontium, tongue and lips are covered. Cysts of the oral cavity are revealed. Infections by viruses, bacteria, HIV, fungi, protozoa and parasites and sexually transmitted diseases are portrayed. Immunodeficiency disorders and a wide range of genetic diseases are represented. Extra-oral skin, blood, gastrointestinal, renal and endocrine diseases manifesting in the mouth are disclosed. Finally, tumors, including benign, reactive, malignant, para- and non-neoplastic neoplasms are reviewed and depicted. Odontogenic tumors are exhibited.

The layout of the contents is formulated to have a brief synoptic descriptions of key points, clinical features, differential diagnoses and treatments on the left-hand pages to correlate with the illustrations of the conditions on the right-hand pages, acting as the titular atlas, which it is.

The occurrence of previously unrecognized iatrogenic immunosuppressive and new viral diseases displayed in the oral cavity has been incorporated into this updated text. The hundreds of references to relevant publications are remarkably up to date, with citations as recent as 2016. The Appendix provides a classification of oral lesions and diseases according to morphology and color, with indications for and types of biopsies.

 The fact that the book was printed in India may account for the reasonable price of this heavily color illustrated volume published by a reputable German Medical Publisher.

The fact that the book was printed in India may account for the reasonable price of this heavily color illustrated volume published by a reputable German Medical Publisher.

As the sole author of this magnum opus, Professor Laskaris acknowledges the contributors to his vast collection of 130,000 images, from which 1003 illustrations are depicted in the book. As the Foreword by Professor Stephen Porter proclaims: “This is an important and essential book for the practice of oral medicine”. Indeed, this work is a sine qua non for oral medicine specialists and oral pathologists and a reference bible for all dentists.