This is a welcome 4th edition of a standard work which now recognises the increased range of medical problems relevant to dentistry with up-to-date information on HIV, Hepatitis and chemical dependency, as well as new chapters on disability, special needs dentistry and socio-economic and ethnic issues. Chapter 23 on "Disability, the young and the elderly" gives a particularly good summary of the conditions a dentist might encounter working in a Community Dental Service. The restructured text means that layout and presentation of information is much improved, providing easier access, and many of the photographs are now in colour. I particularly liked the outline of key points at the beginning of each chapter. This is a good general reference work which should be kept in all dental practices.