Technically speaking, with advances in alveolar surgical techniques, almost all impacted teeth can be extracted. However, there is a trend in recent years that many practitioners of alveolar surgery are aggressive and fanatical about the extraction of impacted teeth. It seems that all impacted teeth should be extracted, and that the competence of the alveolar surgeon can only be reflected in the difficulty of the impacted tooth removal. Indications for the extraction of an impacted tooth, especially for the prophylactic extraction, are often overlooked. In this article, we reviewed the evidence on the indications for the extraction of impacted teeth in recent years, and discussed the "do′s and don′ts" in impacted tooth removal, from the perspectives of the health of both the adjacent teeth, and the maxillomandibular system, the value of retaining impacted teeth, and the shift in the demand for dental implant. Together with the clinical experience of the authors, it is expected to provide some reference for the alveolar surgeons.

After tooth extraction, significantly physiological atrophic changes would occur to the socket. In the aesthetic zone, the collapse of the labial/buccal bone contour could seriously affect the aesthetic outcome of implant-supported restorations. In order to preserve the labial bone, immediate implant placement has strict indications, which can hardly be met by the majority of patients. Herein, this article summarized the rule of atrophic changes in the labial/buccal bone of the extraction socket through literature review. Further, based on this biological rule and our research findings, the expanded indications, clinical surgical procedures, and bone substitutes used for immediate implant placement were reviewed.

In recent years, the alveolar surgery has made significant progress in clinical technology. The concept of minimally invasive surgery has been widely recognized and promoted. Minimally invasive technology is also becoming increasingly mature. However, some physicians focus on minimally invasive surgery while neglecting functional surgery in clinical practice. As to alveolar surgery, the author asserts that ″minimally invasive surgery″ is only the jumping-off point, while ″functional surgery″ is the imperative and ultimate goal. This article explored the connotation and clinical significance of functional alveolar surgery to attract the attention, communication and resonance of the majority of physicians in four aspects, including the preservation and restoration of alveolar bone function, the preservation and restoration of tooth function, the rational management of wisdom tooth function, and the preservation or restoration of neural function.

With the development of modern medical model and the progression of patients′ needs, dentoalveolar surgery, as the most classic speciality of stomatology, has been involved in the development of comfortable therapy in China from the very beginning with inhalation and intravenous sedation as the entry point. As a diagnosis and treatment concept, comfortable therapy is to make patients feel relaxed, comfortable and pleasant in the whole process of diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation thgrough combining technology with humanistic care and psychological relief based on the core model of modern medicine. It consists of clinical techniques that mainly include but not limited to: behavioral management, painless injection, local anesthesia, analgesic techniques, sedation, general anesthesia, and minimally invasive treatment techniques. Dentoalveolar surgery should introduce the concept of comfortable treatment in the whole process in the future. Preoperatively, a variety of painless, local anesthesia and sedation techniques should be used. Intraoperatively, minimally invasive surgery should be performed. Postoperatively, pain management strategies should be taken and attention shoud be paid to the postoperative rehabilitation to achieve a soothing and relaxing experience for patients. Also, attention should be paid to the occupational risks of medical staff, including emphasizing ergonomic positions as well as psychological state de-escalation. It is expected that dentoalveolar surgery will contribute to the development of stomatology as a pioneering discipline in the field of comfortable treatment.

Traumatic dislocation of young permanent teeth is common in children and adolescents. It may be caused by many factors and divided into several types. Total dislocation injury has a high incidence, and affects the dental and maxillofacial development and mental health of children and adolescents. Timely and correct diagnosis, treatment plan, follow-up and record are very important for the recovery of dislocated traumatic teeth. In this article, the diagnostic key points, treatment principles and prognosis of dislocation injury of young permanent teeth were elaborated by mainly referring to the latest criteria formulated by the International Association of Dental Trauma in 2020 (IADT guidelines), in order to provide references for the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury was mainly caused by the extraction of the mandibular third molar, and it is regarded as a difficult clinical problem since its symptoms including numbness, hypersensitivity, and pain influence the patients′ quality of life. This article reviewed the clinical signs, pathological changes, functional assessment, risk factors, and prevention progress of IAN injury in order to provide references for understanding its causes and pathological mechanisms, and developing its evaluation and clinical prevention strategies.

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are organized aggregates of immune cells that form postnatally in nonlymphoid tissues. TLSs are not found under physiological conditions but arise in the context of chronic inflammation, such as autoimmune diseases, chronic infection, and cancer. In the setting of cancer development, TLSs facilitate the influx of immune cells into the cancer site and have therefore attracted interest as a means of improving anticancer immunity and favorable treatment response in patients. In spite of their presumed importance, the drivers of TLSs formation in cancer and the contribution of these structures to intratumoral immune response remain incompletely understood. In this article, the biology of TLSs and their recent advances in oral cancer research were reviewed.

The widespread application of dental implant technology provides a new solution for patients with missing teeth. Particularly, the complete dentures supported by dental implants provides better chewing efficiency and aesthetics for patients. It has become a common pursuit of both dentists and patients with terminal dentition to achieve immediate implant-supported restorations and avoid suffering from missing teeth. In this article, the digital sequential guide techniques of immediate implant placement and restoration for patients with terminal dentition were summarized and reviewed, so as to provide reference for their clinical application.

Severely worn teeth accompanied by decreased masticatory efficiency and impaired appearance can greatly affect the life quality of patients. Occlusal reconstruction is an effective treatment for this disease but the treatment process is quite complicated and highly dependent on the doctor′s experience. With the application of digital technology in occlusal reconstruction, clinicians are keeping exploring how to shift the focus of treatment to the initial design stage so as to reduce the difficulty of operation, improve the predictability and control the quality effectively in the whole process. In this article, the classification, general manufacturing process, design, and application of the main types of digital guide plates, namely digital-designed occlusal plate, crown-lengthening guide plate, tooth-preparation guide plate and bonding guide plate, used in occlusal reconstruction were summarized, and the procedures of using these digital guide plates in the sequential treatment were reviewed, aiming to provide a reference for clinical work and achieve the goal of minimally invasive treatment and "Taking the end as the start" .

Maxillary sinus floor augmentation is a commonly used and reliable bone augmentation technique when there is severe bone loss in the posterior maxillary region. However, this procedure is challenging to perform and highly technically sensitive, with potential complications such as sinus membrane perforation, bleeding, and infection. With the rapid advancement of digital technology, various digital techniques such as computer vision, computer-aided design, 3D printing and artificial intelligence have been applied to multiple aspects of preoperative planning, surgical procedures, and postoperative management in sinus floor elevation surgery. These digital technologies have effectively improved surgical outcomes and reduced postoperative complications. In this article, we provided an introduction of the digital workflow of maxillary sinus floor elevation surgery, and presented the research progress and clinical application of digital technology and artificial intelligence in maxillary sinus floor external elevation surgery.

Instrument separation is one of the most common complications of root canal treatment, and it is also a clinical problem that plagues many dentists. This article summarized the causes of root canal instrument separation, handling decisions, clinical disposal process, the removal techniques commonly used in clinics, and the post-treatment problems that may arise following root canal treatment. It aimed to investigate the rational disposal options for endodontic instruments that have been separated. In addition, this article also explored the specifications for removing separated instruments, so as to improve the success rate of treatment and increase tooth survival.

The prevalence of dental caries remains high, posing a serious disease burden and a challenging situation for prevention and control. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly impacted the medical field, particularly through the application of powerful image recognition technology. These advancements have provided new opportunities for developing more accurate diagnostic and risk assessment for caries, thereby enabling more nuanced and effective precision medicine. In this article, the role of AI in the diagnosis and risk prediction of caries, its research progress and prospect were discussed.

Root canal therapy is a conventional treatment for pulpal and periapical diseases. Intracanal interappointment medicaments are important in treatment of pulpal necrosis and apical periodontitis. In addition to killing microorganisms, intracanal medicaments may promote tissue healing and prevent reinfection. The most commonly used intracanal medicaments are calcium hydroxide, chlorhexidine digluconate, and triple antibiotic paste, which can not offer excellent efficacy and safety. The progress of molecular biology and nanotechnology has promoted the development of new antibacterial drugs represented by antimicrobial peptides and nanoparticles. The present article introduces the common used intracanal medicaments in endodontics, and the progress of developing novel medicaments. The development trend of intracanal medicaments in endodontics is also discussed.

Taurodontism is a developmental disturbance of pulp chamber, which manifested as a large pulp chamber and short roots with a broad enamel-cenmental junction in the molar. The pathogenesis of taurodontism has not yet been fully elucidated. The main theories about the pathogenesis include atavism, concomitant symptoms of hereditary diseases and abnormal root development. Many biological molecules such as nfi-c, WNT10A and KIF4A have also been proved to be closely related to the occurrence of taurodontism. This review focuses on the etiology of taurodontism in order to promote the clinical knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Implant is one of the key materials in the implant treatment process. Subtractive manufacturing is the main mode of production for implants. In recent years, the emergence and development of metal three-dimensional (3D) printing technology have provided an alternative method for the manufacturing of dental implants. Powder bed melting is one of the metal 3D printing technologies and most widely used in the biomedical field. Among them, selective laser melting (SLM) is the mainstream process of powder bed melting, which has strong comprehensive properties and broad application prospects. It has been found that 3D printing titanium implants have better mechanical properties than castings and are close to forgings, but there is a problem with mechanical properties anisotropy that needs to be optimized to meet the requirements of dental implant materials. In terms of biological characteristics, it has been proved that 3D printing technology does not affect the biocompatibility of titanium materials. Researchers demonstrated that 3D printed titanium implants have similar or even better osseointegration properties than the conventional titanium implants in three aspects: healthy animals, disease animal models and human experiments. Finally, the problems existing in 3D printed titanium implants are summarized and further research is envisioned.

Peri-implant buccal soft tissue dehiscence (PSTD) is a common clinical complication after oral implantation. PSTD can be defined as an apical migration of the peri-implant soft tissue for more than 1 mm from the baseline examination (final restoration) or in comparison with the adjacent or contralateral natural tooth, exposing part of the prosthetic components, the implant shoulder or surface. PSTD may jeopardize the aesthetic outcome and increase the incidence of biological complications. The research on PSTD is lacking at present. The definition and classification of PSTD have not been standardized. The treatment for soft tissue dehiscence was controversial. With the increasing aesthetic demands of patients, the treatment of PSTD becomes more and more urgent. Therefore, we reviewed the research progress on peri-implant buccal soft tissue dehiscence. We clearly defined the concept, indications and treatment goals of PSTD, and identified the factors associated with the occurrence of PSTD. We also presented a new classification system of PSTD at single implant site and provided treatment recommendations. Furthermore, we provided several implications for the prevention and control of PSTD to improve patients′ satisfaction.

An intact and healthy dental pulp is crucial to maintain the integrity of tooth. A variety of impairments such as infection and trauma cause irreversible pulp damage, which require removal of pulp tissue and conventional root canal filing. However, this type of treatment fails to restore vital pulp. It is still a clinical challenge that how to regenerate pulp and prolong the lifespan of tooth. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) are isolated from the dental pulp of permanent teeth and exfoliated deciduous teeth, respectively. They are more suitable and practical kinds of seed cell sources for dental pulp regeneration due to their superior proliferation capacity, excellent neurogenic / angiogenic differentiation capability, and dental tissue origin. A few preclinical and clinical studies showed that implantation of autologous DPSCs or SHED can re-establish physiological pulp tissue structures. This review article sought to introduce the innate characteristics of DPSCs / SHED and the current state of dental pulp regeneration research.

The early orthodontic treatment for malocclusion of children is a hot but controversial topic in orthodontics and even in the entire dental field. Most orthodontic specialists are in favor of the early intervention for malocclusion of children, since it can remove the adverse factors affecting the development of maxillofacial regions and redirect the abnormal growth of jaws, so as to reduce the difficulty and duration of the subsequent orthodontic treatment. However, some scholars suggest that the early orthodontic treatment does not seem to be beneficial. Based on review of the current literature and clinical experience, this article analyzes the etiologies and characteristics of different types of malocclusions, and then discusses the necessity and ideal timing of the early intervention for children. Classical studies and the latest advances of the early orthodontic treatment are summarized here.

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of oral mucosa with complex etiology, which belongs to the category of oral potential malignant disorders. At present, drug therapy is the main treatment of OLP. Although a variety of new immunosuppressive agents are widely used in OLP treatment, some cases are still difficult to treat and easy to relapse, and a few cases end up with malignant transformation. Exploring new therapeutic drugs and methods is the key to solve the current dilemma. With the development of modern biotechnology and medical equipment, the biological agents, photodynamic therapy and photobiomodulation therapy are gradually applied to the clinical treatment of OLP. This article reviews the recent literature and provides a brief overview of the treatment progress of OLP.

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is a disease with a high incidence in dental clinics except for caries, periodontal disease, and malocclusion. Due to the unknown etiology, ununified diagnosis and treatment mode, and unclear diagnosis and treatment outcome, TMD is recognized as an intractable disease. The key of diagnosis and treatment for TMD includes the articular disc, condylar bone, masticatory muscles, and occlusion. Recently, more and more attention has been paid to psychotherapy. However, there have not been established systematic diagnosis and treatment models. Based on the previous unique diagnosis and treatment model, we put forward the 'MOODE’ novel treatment model including disc, occlusion, osseous tissue, muscle, and emotion. We hope to provide a more systematic, comprehensive, and multidimensional diagnosis and treatment model for TMD.