Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
form the British Homoeopathic Dental Association interested dentist will find this comprehensive
(BHDA) in 1990, and to earn the co-operation of the approach rewarding and absorbing. There is also an
Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital in establish- appendix on the establishment and stocking of a
ing courses for dentists leading to recognized qualifi- basic dental homoeopathic pharmacy.
cations in Dental Homoeopathy. The interest aroused Dr Lessell is to be congratulated on producing a
within the BHDA, confirmed by a rapid increase in textbook which, I suspect, will long remain a stan-
membership, encouraged Colin Lessell to produce dard reference book for homoeopathic dental practi-
this excellent textbook. tioners.
The book is divided into two parts:
Jack G Levenson LDSRCS (Edin),
President,
Part 1
British Society of Mercury Free Dentistry
This is an introduction to the history and basic princi- (incorporating The British Dental Society
ples, and the who, what, why, when, where, and how for Clinical Nutrition);
of homoeopathy. It is sufficiently comprehensive for Founder member,
the serious student and provides enough background British Homoeopathic Dental Association,
information for the interested dentist to dip his toes in Flat 1,62 Welbeck Street,
the water, without fear, and start prescribing from the London W1M 7HB, UK
comprehensive information and instructional guide-
lines in Part 2.
Essential oil safety: a guide for health care
Part 2 professionals
Most dentists spend the majority of their time carry- by Robert Tisserand and Tony Balacs
ing out mechanical procedures in the mouth. The
Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1995. vii+279pp.
unwelcome twin intrusions, pain and infection, are
£26.
treated with analgesics and antibiotics. In the case of
ISBN: 0 443 05260 3
antibiotics, homoeopathy is of particular significance
as the over-use of antibiotics (and the action of mer- This book, as its title suggests, addresses the impor-
cury on gut bacteria see Appendix 2) has resulted in tant issues of essential oil safety, toxicity and toxicol-
a frightening increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. ogy, and is the first book of its kind to examine
Part 2 opens up a whole new and exciting world of essential oils in this way. The book is well written and
differential diagnosis for various conditions and treat- delightfully free from anecdote, compared to many
ment, often utilizing combination therapies, including previous books in this field. The research information
homoeopathy, in conjunction with nutrition, is well presented and up to date. Problems such as the
acupuncture, and chiropractic techniques. This sec- difficulty in extrapolation of research findings
tion is in encyclopaedic form and equally easy to use between animal studies and possible human
for the aspiring dental homoeopath as for the dental responses are acknowledged, since the number of
homoeopathic dabbler. human clinical trials performed with essential oils are
Often, conditions in the mouth may be local in ori- known to be limited.
gin. More often, conditions such as periodontal dis- It is refreshing to find a book about essential oils
ease, tooth-grinding, bad breath, herpes, tooth decay, which is not a 'how to' book, but instead offers pro-
and alveolar bone resorption are manifestations of a files about the essential oils from a toxicology view-
system condition. The mouth does not live in isola- point. It is therefore interesting that not all oils
tion from the rest of the body and this approach is known to be in common usage are referred to in detail
apparent throughout the text. in the book, which may be disconcerting for some
Encouragement is given to the dentist to look at readers. Most oils are, however, listed in the safety
common conditions with a refreshingly new index section.
approach. To take one example, if a patient com- Many of these are not in common usage by aro-
plains of uncomfortable swollen tongue, should matherapists in practice, nor are they traditionally
he/she prescribe mouthwash and antibiotics? - No. currently taught on aromatherapy courses. The use of
The dentist will observe: is it bitten, blackhairy, burn- some of this information may therefore be lost on
ing? He will look at colour: red, magenta, creamy, practising therapists in healthcare settings. However,
white, yellow. Is it fissured, imprinted, moist, soft, the various sections of the book provide useful infor-
shiny, smooth, indented, ulcerated? Are these mation about administration, metabolism, toxicity,
varicose, sublingual veins? - and a host of other the skin, cancer, reproduction, cautions, and con-
variants which are found in the index. There are treat- traindications. Essential oil profiles, a chemical
ments suggested for varying combinations of these and safety index, and safety guidelines are also
conditions, preferential rather than specific, and the included.
80 Complementary Therapies in Medicine
The limitations of the book in terms of its value by the section on the administration of medicines for
for healthcare professionals lie in the areas where nurses, midwives and health visitors produced by the
research has not yet been performed, such as interac- UKCC, almost suggesting that this is an approved
tions and toxicities with other drugs, and the effects way for nurses to offer essential oils in practice. At
of the oils on humans in the clinical setting as present, this is not the case and may be misleading for
opposed to animal laboratory studies. Until further the reader.
such research has been performed, no text will be able There is a commercial bias evident in the useful
to provide answers to these questions. addresses section which is unfortunate. This textbook
In terms of overall value, this book may well be is certainly approaching a level for healthcare profes-
seen as an up-to-date safety manual in the field of sionals and at present is the most informative on the
aromatherapy. How much this information will be of market. It is a well-rounded text and, along with the
use to the qualified therapist in the clinical situation recent publication of the Tisserand and Balacs' book
will depend upon the level of previous knowledge Essential Oil Safety (Churchill Livingstone 1995),
level and awareness of current research. which examines essential oil toxicology, forms the
best available information source for healthcare pro-
Caroline Stevensen BA Hons, RGN, IFA, fessionals published to date. Until further human
MacMillan Specialist in Complementary Therapies, clinical research trials are performed in the field of
Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital NHS Trust, essential oils, it will be difficult to obtain more rele-
London, UK vant clinical information about the use of essential
oils in practice.