Welcome to the fifth edition of Oral Pathology for the Dental Hygienist. We are delighted to have made some exciting changes in this edition, which we hope will contribute significantly to the teaching and learning process of oral pathology. Our goal has always been to facilitate teaching and learning and the fifth edition continues the two purposes set forth by the previous editions—to stand as both an excellent color atlas and invaluable resource text.
We received enthusiastic responses from faculty and students on the full-color clinical illustrations throughout the text in the fourth edition, and the fifth edition continues to offer an ideal combination of clinical photographs, radiographs, and discussion to help dental hygiene students and clinicians identify the appearance of variations of normal and disease states.
The fifth edition includes a variety of learning features to help students achieve the best possible outcomes in both the classroom and clinical setting. These features include:
• A detailed vocabulary list with definitions and pronunciations is presented at the beginning of each chapter. This list helps students learn essential new dental terminology so they can more effectively describe lesions and conditions in the classroom and in the clinical setting.
• Each chapter begins with a list of objectives that provides an overview of what is covered in the chapter. These objectives clearly define what the student is expected to learn and guide the faculty in test question preparation.
• Useful synopsis tables briefly outline the most critical information pertinent to each lesion, disease, or condition discussed in the chapter. This handy feature enables students to review all the disorders discussed in the chapter at a glance. This also serves as a quick reference for practicing hygienists in the clinical setting.
• Review questions at the end of each chapter help students test their knowledge of the chapter material and serve as good practice for taking the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam (NBDHE). All questions now have four answer selections, consistent with the national exam.
• An extended list of references appears at the end of each chapter which provided the student with additional study resources. References have been updated in this edition to reflect new research.
• A comprehensive glossary at the end of the text provides easy access to the definitions of all the highlighted words.
A CD-ROM containing over 50 case studies is packaged with the text. These case studies present the material and concepts described in the text in a case-based format, which will help students master the important critical thinking skills they will need when working in the clinical setting as well as help them prepare for the NBDHE. By incorporating the case-based format, students are able to apply their knowledge to real-life situations. It's the next best thing to hands-on clinical practice. Not only is the CD an excellent preparation resource, it is also a great asset for class projects.
In this edition, you will find a new section addressing the current concepts on methamphetamine abuse (Chapter 2) and new sections detailing biophosphonate-associated osteonecrosis and acanthosis nigricans (Chapter 9).
Each chapter has been thoroughly updated with new vocabulary, terminology and references. The glossary has been expanded to now include all of the bolded terminology within the chapters, making it an even more important reference.
All of the chapter review questions have been revised to offer four answer selections, which more clearly reflect the NBDHE design and format. This format change will assist faculty in preparing students for the NBDHE, course reviews, and curriculum examinations.
One of the biggest additions to the fifth edition is the EVOLVE site which includes a wealth of helpful information for both faculty and students. A complete listing of the material available on Evolve can be found on the About EVOLVE page following the preface.
We hope that this new edition, written specifically for dental hygienists, will continue to provide dental hygienists with the highest-standard oral pathology text. We strongly encourage instructors to continue to use the text in other courses, such as radiology, oral histology, and clinical courses. Dental hygienists have earned a reputation for excellence in identifying abnormal oral findings. The integration of oral pathology throughout the dental hygiene curriculum ensures more comprehensive patient care by the student and the dental hygiene practitioner.