The dentist will be confronted unexpectedly with a dentoalveolar trauma patient. This patient has to be seen immediately and has to be treated adequately. The risk of overlooking trauma-related signs when examining these patients, can be minimized by following a strict protocol. This article describes a protocol for examination and treatment of a patient with a dentoalveolar trauma. The prognosis after treatment of the trauma is discussed. Also some recommendations regarding aftercare and prevention are presented.

Eruption disturbances of teeth should not be considered as a curiosity. Acquaintance with these phenomena should form a substantial component of the dentist’s, orthodontist’s and oral and maxillofacial surgeon’s basic expertise. Early detection of these disturbances followed by treatment in due time, can minimise progressive negative effects, such as the development of severe malocclusion. Treatment modalities are described.

A too short superior labial frenum is quite normal in babies and little children. Usually, the strong frenum disappears at twelve years of age. Before considering surgical intervention beyond this age, one should exclude the presence of a tooth size or arch length discrepancy, a mesiodens or a severe dysgnathia. In this article the consequences of a too short superior labial frenum and its treatment are discussed

The aim of reconstructive preprosthetic surgery is the creation of an environment of hard and soft tissue which is favourable to the function of an aesthetically optimal prosthesis, with or without oral implants. In this paper, various preprosthetic surgical treatments for correcting soft and hard tissues are discussed.

Reconstructive preprosthetic surgery is, amongst others, aimed at the creation of an environment which is favourable to the construction of an implant supported prosthesis. Not in all cases the pre-existent volume of bone is sufficient to place an implant in the planned position. In this paper various techniques to augment local bone defects for reliable implant placement are described.

In dentistry complications are undesirable adventures provoked by oral health care delivery. If there is any risk of a complication, the patient needs to be informed before treatment. Occurrence of complications can be minimized by adequate diagnostics and planning sufficient time for treatment. The most common complications during and after dentoalveolar surgery are discussed, such as complications during or after producing local anaesthesia, nerve injuries, complications during or after tooth extraction, aspiration, jaw luxation, disturbed wound healing, and complications during or after implantation procedures.

Some medical textbooks are available on internet these days. One of the oldest and most famous medical textbooks, ‘The Merck manual of medical information’, and other Merck-books have been published full text and free of charge on the internet. The electronic issues are compatible with the originals. Because of the use of internet techniques and the many hypertext links, they are very user friendly.