Book excerpt: Essential Orthodontics: Diagnosis and Treatment is designed to help dental students, orthodontic residents, and general dentists understand the basic concepts and procedures essential to the diagnosis, treatment planning, and treatment of patients who have relatively simple malocclusion problems. The authors explain the steps of diagnosing basic orthodontic problems and analyzing dental radiographs and include many of the forms and charts dentists use for examination, diagnosis, and appliance design. Readers will learn about the mechanics of how appliances move teeth, the different types of appliances, and the orthodontic materials on the market. The authors also explain and demonstrate through color photos how to take dental impressions, create plaster casts, how to create the various fixed and removable appliances, and how to write a laboratory prescription for each appliance. A needed text for the dental student, it is also an excellent resource for dentists wanting to expand their services.