Digitalization and information technology have been the main theme of Oral Medicine since the 21st century. In particular, the application of artificial intelligence technology in Prosthodontics can promote the intelligent upgrading of the entire process from the initial diagnosis to the follow-ups after treatment. This article introduced the concept of the current artificial intelligence technologies, discussed the application and progress of artificial intelligence in Prosthodontics, as well as the existing deficiencies at the current stage and the future development directions, so as to provide references for clinical dentists and scientific researchers to further integrate Oral Medicine with artificial intelligence.

As a conventional dental restorative material, glass ionomer cement (GIC) has been widely used in clinical practice because of its outstanding properties, such as biocompatibility, adhesion and fluoride release ability, and it has a great development prospect. In this review, the chemical composition, classification, advantages and disadvantages, and the clinical application of glass ionomer cement were systematically summarized. The existing problems and modification researches of GIC were discussed in order to provide a reference for its better development and clinical application.

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.

Due to the development of novel dental materials and digital techniques, the basic and clinical researches focusing on dental caries have been accumulated recently, which also promotes the clinical validation for the early diagnosis, comprehensive prevention, and functional-aesthetic treatment with minimal invasive intervention. By searching the literature, this article reviewed the current novel techniques that can be used to detect and diagnose caries, along with their clinical application, advantages and disadvantages, so as to provide references for the clinical application.

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.

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.

Based on the reports of the previous Workshops in 2017 and 2019, the third joint Workshop by the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the European arm of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) (2022) discussed and summarized the associations between periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and respiratory diseases, and the implications for dentists and family doctors. The role of dentists and family doctors in managing non-communicable diseases and promoting healthy lifestyles was discussed as well. This article briefly introduced the main content of this Workshop and explored the enlightenments about multiple disciplinary team treatment combining with the national conditions of China.

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.

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.

Cleft palate is one of the most common congenital maxillofacial deformities, often affecting the physical and psychosocial function of patients. The goal of cleft palate repair is to reconstruct the palatal structure and restore speech function. This review aimed to demonstrate the historical development of cleft palate repair and discuss the following aspects: two major goals of cleft palate repair, the goals of modern cleft palate repair, the strategy to achieve new goals of cleft palate repair, and the future development of cleft palate repair.

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" .

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.

股前外侧皮瓣属于穿支皮瓣，在创面修复领域被称为"万能皮瓣"，目前被广泛运用于口腔颌面部各类缺损修复。制备过程为：沿髂前上棘至髌骨外上缘之间连线，取线中点周围3 cm为穿支点，按实际需要设计皮岛范围；经内侧切开皮肤、皮下组织、阔筋膜；经阔筋膜深面寻找1 ~ 2支穿支；打开股前外侧肌与股直肌之间间隙，探查旋股外侧动脉降支；经穿支表面分离，充分暴露穿支走向；按实际需要制取穿支周围肌袖，尽量携带少许肌袖；继续解剖分离出血管蒂，即完成皮瓣制备。

As the extraction of the mandibular third molars is one of the most common surgical procedures in oral surgery, accurate assessment of its difficulty is helpful for communication between doctors and patients and for controlling intraoperative and postoperative complications. Currently, the most commonly used methods or scales for clinical evaluation of the difficulty of tooth extraction include Winter′s classification, Pell & Gregory classification, and Pederson index, which are not specified and sensitive enough, and no new widely recognized evaluation system has been established. Therefore, this article systematically summarized the possible predictive factors for assessing the difficulty of extracting mandibular third molars, including the anatomical characteristics of the impacted tooth, such as root morphology, impaction angle, depth of impaction, width of the impacted tooth, distance from the second molar to the ramus, periodontal membrane status, and contact with adjacent teeth, as well as the patient information such as age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). The article analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of several current evaluation systems for assessing the difficulty of extracting the mandibular third molars in order to provide useful directions and ideas for establishing a new evaluation system.

Biodegradable bone adhesives attract increasing attention in biomaterial research. These adhesives have exhibited great potential in fracture fixation and bone defect treatment, but they are not commonly used in Dentistry. Recently, researchers have developed a degradable super bone adhesive with excellent adhesion, biocompatibility and performance in promoting bone regeneration. Their findings made new breakthroughs in bone adhesion, tooth bonding and bone regeneration. This article aimed to review their findings and discuss the related research prospects.

Diastema is a common aesthetic defect. Orthodontic treatments, although minimally invasive, are time-consuming and carry the risk of recurrence. Prosthodontic treatment is a good alternative treatment. With the development of digital technology, 2D and 3D digital design can be combined with intraoral and facial scanning images, as well as CBCT data for 3D reconstruction, to achieve 3D prediction of restoration outcomes, and make each step more accurate. This article reported a case of scattered diastema in the anterior teeth, and being restored with digital technology to reconstruct the smile aesthetics. With the digital guidance of planning, aesthetic outcome prediction and clinical procedure, ceramic veneers and crown restorations were completed. The appearance of the patient′s anterior teeth was improved and the post-restorative outcome was satisfying at 6-month follow-up.

Digital technology has been widely used in dental clinical practice. The clinical treatment of prosthodontics is inseparable from the function assessment of the patients′ stomatognathic system. However, the evaluation of occlusion, masticatory muscles, and temporomandibular joints has been difficult to be analyzed in a visualized, objective and quantitative way. Dental digital technology provides new ways to address these challenges. In this article, the digital assessment of masticatory muscle functional status, occlusal force and occlusal contact, and mandibular movement function was taken as the starting point to discuss its application and research progress in stomatognathic system function, so as to provide reference for its application in the clinical prosthodontic treatment.