The book covers many of the areas of dentistry that overlap with, or border on, other specialties in the field of medicine and surgery, but does not attempt to duplicate all the data currently available in standard texts such as the medico-legal aspects of dentistry or details of operative techniques. Thus the text includes practical aspects of Oral Medicine and Pathology, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, including Traumatology, and relevant aspects of sedation, anaesthetics and therapeutics. One of the most important roles of this book is to bridge the gap between undergraduate dental and medical knowledge, allowing the dental professional to be able to take a full medical history, examine the patient, perform the appropriate investigations, appreciate the patient's medical problems and their implications on dental management, and finally enabling them to treat their patients in a safe and effective way.