Well, we made it to the end of 2020, and I’m sure, like us, you’re ready to say good riddance. But with a new (and hopefully better) year on the horizon, we wanted to look back on the best bits of 2020. After all, despite the pandemic, we’ve released some stellar titles this year. Quintessence has always been committed to clinical excellence, and we take pride in offering our readers the best books in dentistry on the market. We’ve published 15 books this year, and it seems each is more engaging and beautiful than the last.
Consider David Sarver’s Dentofacial Esthetics: From Macro to Micro. Talk about engaging. You’ll never get through a 500-page book with as much ease as this one. The author is a master storyteller and teacher, which makes for a fun and spellbinding read. Dr Sarver knows that the patient’s overall facial appearance determines how they look to others, not just their smile, and as such he focuses on the complete picture, from macro to micro. The beautiful case examples and winsome design really make this book impossible to put down.
Other stunners this year include Drs Catherine Davies and Rick Miron’s PRF in Facial Esthetics and Dr Louis Hardan’s Protocols for Mobile Dental Photography with Auxiliary Lighting. Both of these titles skirt convention and opt to present their relevant content in the most engaging possible way for their audience. The former makes blood draws and centrifuges and facial injections sexy somehow, and the latter uses a free-form, artistic design to show readers how to take and make the best photographs with a mobile device.
Dr Ulrike Uhlmann knows how important FUN is to the practice of pediatric dentistry, and this theme weaves its way throughout the design, narrative, and visual program of her new book, Dentistry for Kids: Rethinking Your Daily Practice. And Italian authors Drs Leonardo Trombelli and Enrico Agliardi and Davide Romeo show their best work with impressive case examples and step-by-step procedures in their respective titles published this year.
The list goes on and on. From Donald Maxwell Brunette’s Critical Thinking to Newton J. Fahl, Jr and André V. Ritter’s Composite Veneers, every book this year has truly set the bar higher for clinical excellence and academic rigor. A new edition of Sleep Medicine for Dentists, edited by Gilles J. Lavigne, Peter A. Cistulli, and Michael T. Smith, updated the current research available on the topic, and QDT 2020 once again showcased the best techniques and masters in esthetic dentistry. Francesco Pedetta published a tidy little book about straight-wire orthodontics, and Mohammed Sabeti, Edward S. Lee, and Mahmoud Torabinejad published their own tidy book called PRF Applications in Endodontics. Deborah Termeie updated her best-selling Periodontics Q&A Review, and Andreas Filippi and Sebastian Kühl’s Tooth-Preserving Surgery was made available in English.
The last book to go to press this year (and still on press as I write this) is Rick Miron’s Understanding Platelet-Rich Fibrin. What a way to finish off the year. If you are a dentist, you will want this book. It covers everything from endodontics to oral surgery to medical applications, and it centers on the use of a cheap and freely available material—the patient’s own blood. Put this on your Christmas list!
Looking back on the titles of 2020, I’m struck by how different the best books of today look from the best books of years past. While the books from 10 years ago are just as didactically sound with the superb image quality Quintessence readers have come to expect, the books of 2020 are more free-form, with more breaks from convention. This shift has most certainly come about because of a change in philosophy about who we are. The predominant question facing our editorial and production staff was once “How do we make this title look like a Quintessence book?” But now with each title we ask ourselves: “How do we make this Quintessence book reflect its content and author best?” After all, the real gem of each title is the author(s) behind it, and who are we to tell them what their vision should be. Of course we have certain standards and, you know, grammar rules to follow and all, but we really take pride these days in giving our authors a chance to show us their vision so we can make it ours too as much as possible. That way everyone wins: the author, the publisher, and the reader. A perfect trinity supporting clinical excellence in dentistry.
This year has certainly been one for the ages, but let’s not discount what’s come out of it. Dentistry continues with or without a global pandemic, and so too does our commitment to our authors and our readers. To check out any of our 2020 titles or see previews of their contents, go to www.quintpub.com. Happy reading!