▪ News origin September 20, is the 21st national “Love Teeth Day”, the health department of this year’s “Love Teeth Day” activities as the theme of “maintain oral health, improve the quality of life”. The theme of this year’s event is “Maintain Oral Health, Improve Quality of Life”. It can be seen that the concern for oral health has risen to the level of quality of life. Oral health is an important part of the health of the whole body, and teeth are the most important part of the oral cavity, and it is the dream of many people to have a mouthful of healthy and beautiful teeth. Zhang Jianqiang, Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital However, there is always a time when people lose their teeth, so what kind of dentures should we choose when we lose our teeth? When you have lost your teeth, it is imperative to replace them, but even the best dentures are not as good as your own teeth movable dentures fixed dentures dental implants I once had pulpitis, the feeling is still fresh in my mind, not only is a deep marrow pain, but also eat badly, sleep poorly, I wish this tooth was not their own. When the doctor announced that the medication was no longer good enough and that root canal treatment was needed, I asked weakly if I could have it pulled and replaced with the best dentures. The doctor’s words dissuaded me and made me continue to endure the pain of root canal treatment. “Gold teeth and silver teeth are not as good as your own good teeth”. Natural teeth The best teeth Reptiles can keep changing their teeth throughout their lives, while humans have only two sets of teeth in their lifetime: milk teeth and permanent teeth. When the milk teeth fall out and the permanent teeth grow in, they will be with them for the rest of their lives, and once they fall out, they will not grow in again. During the long evolution of humans, in order to cut food into small pieces that can be easily swallowed and digested, the teeth diverged into their current shape that can cut food most efficiently. Its perfect mechanical structure has amazed all dentists, and as Zhang Jianqiang, director of the Department of Dentistry at the First Affiliated Hospital of the PLA General Hospital, said, the best dentures are only infinitely close to real teeth. Of course, due to some reasons such as heredity, bad habits, tooth replacement disorder, our permanent teeth may not be so perfect, there will always be one kind of malformation or another. But with early medical orthodontics, we can still have good teeth, and if properly maintained, they can stay with us for the rest of our lives. That’s why it’s our first choice to say that the best teeth are our own good teeth. How to care for your teeth will not be detailed here. But there are always various reasons why your teeth are hurting and they age. When a non-renewable tooth is lost, if we ignore it, the jawbone at the site of loss will shrink and the shape of the adjacent teeth will be greatly affected, so a filling is imperative for better chewing function and even for aesthetics. So, what kind of teeth do we need to fill? Movable dentures convenient is not necessarily the best restricted by medical conditions and costs, easy to operate movable dentures have been the first choice of many people. Zhang Jianqiang introduced, movable denture consists of a denture on the base and a flexible metal hook, the patient can freely take wear. It has a wide range of adaptability and can be considered by most patients, from missing a tooth to a full mouth, even if the adjacent teeth at both ends are not very strong, can also be installed. Since it is movable, it is naturally less stable and therefore, it is difficult to achieve the chewing efficiency of real teeth. Moreover, dentures tend to erode neighboring teeth or cause loosening of teeth. Single movable dentures are easy to loosen and be swallowed by mistake due to their small size, and once swallowed by mistake into the esophagus or stomach, the denture hooks can damage the gastrointestinal tract. Fixed dentures let real teeth hurt Of course, if their own conditions allow, a healthy adult man, only one or two missing teeth, fixed dentures is a relatively good choice, its chewing function can be restored like real teeth. Zhang Jianqiang said, fixed dentures is the use of good teeth adjacent to both sides of the missing teeth, the dentures fixed on it, in the setting of teeth, first of all, the good teeth adjacent to both sides of the missing teeth for grinding, as abutment teeth, and then on top of it a brace, and then connect the two sides, the middle set of dentures, fixed on both sides of the good teeth through the adhesive, like a bridge, so called fixed bridge. But the biggest drawback of fixed dentures is too much damage to the real teeth, Zhang Jianqiang said, it needs to be a healthy teeth artificially small, very unfortunate, and because the dentures themselves need to be supported by the natural teeth at both ends, the chewing pressure will be transferred to the natural teeth, long time down also prone to problems, the loss is not worth it. Can dental implants become the third set of teeth It may be the best option to plant a tooth that can be used for a long time on the jawbone. Zhang Jianqiang said, this is the artificial dental implant, through the medical way, pure titanium metal with high compatibility with human bone is manufactured into a cylinder or other shape similar to a tooth root through precise design, and implanted into the alveolar bone of the missing tooth area in a small surgical way. 1-3 months later, when the artificial tooth root and the alveolar bone fit tightly, then the crown is made on the artificial tooth root. Since the artificial tooth is deeply implanted in the bone, it can withstand normal chewing force and is almost the same as the natural tooth in function and aesthetics, therefore, it is called the third set of human teeth and is recognized as the first choice for restoration of missing teeth in dentistry. However, the higher price and longer treatment period (3-6 months) limit the use for many people. Prolonged tooth loss can have many adverse effects on the patient’s diet, speech and especially psychological and social interactions (missing front teeth). Dr. Sun Peng of the Department of Stomatology of the First Affiliated Hospital of the PLA General Hospital said that in the case of single-root trauma resulting in root fracture, untreatable caries, tooth remnants, and roots without inflammation in the apical area, immediate implant surgery is an option. In other words, the implant is placed in the original socket immediately after the extraction of the affected tooth, and the extraction, implantation and temporary restoration are completed in one day. The extraction, implantation and temporary restoration can be done in one day, which greatly shortens the treatment process and preserves the soft tissues around the tooth. Q: Are all people eligible for dental implants? Zhang Jianqiang: Dental implants are suitable for a wide range of people, the surgery is very small and safe, no hospitalization is required, generally people who can accept conventional extraction surgery can consider implant restoration. However, some patients with special chronic diseases, such as diabetes, uncontrolled heart disease and hypertension, blood disorders, osteoporosis, and patients who need radiotherapy after oral cancer surgery are not suitable to receive implant restoration immediately. In addition, patients who have the habit of grinding their teeth at night and patients who cannot maintain good oral hygiene such as heavy smokers and alcoholics are also not suitable for implant restorations. Q: Can all people who are suitable for dental implant surgery have immediate implant restoration? Sun Peng: There is a thin layer of soft tissue between the root of the tooth and the alveolar bone. If the root of the tooth is intact, the tooth will be stripped from the alveolar bone using minimally invasive surgery along this layer of soft tissue, and then the artificial root will be implanted. Q: What tests should be performed before the implant surgery? Zhang Jianqiang: Dental implant surgery requires not only a thorough understanding of the patient’s medical history and health condition, but also the necessary general examination and comprehensive oral examination, such as taking oral panoramic X-ray and CT of the jaws, and checking the blood routine. Even the bone quality and amount of bone in the missing tooth area should be checked to determine if it is suitable for surgery before a treatment plan can be made to determine which one and how. Therefore not all hospitals have the appropriate conditions to perform dental implant surgery. It is a very safe surgery, and various problems often arise because some clinics do not have the appropriate conditions to barely get started. Q: Is it possible to eat right after the dental implant surgery is completed? Jianqiang Zhang: If it is after minimally invasive dental implant surgery, you can eat normally because of the small trauma, but the food should not be too hot and hard. You should also rinse your mouth with mouthwash after meals to maintain oral hygiene, and take oral antibiotics to prevent infection. In the case of standard dental implant surgery, do not brush your teeth for 24 hours and rinse your mouth with water. 2 hours after the surgery, you can eat and drink moderately and do not overheat the food. For simple implant surgery (small number of implants, short surgery time and good recovery of the patient), oral antibiotics are given after the surgery, while complex implant surgery requires intravenous application of antibiotics to prevent infection. Q: What is minimally invasive implant? Zhang Jianqiang: Minimally invasive dental implant is the application of minimally invasive technology to the field of dental implant, in the use of tiny incisions (3-4 mm) to “plant” artificial tooth roots into the mouth, free from the traditional dental implant incision and turn up the flesh, suturing, stitching and other steps to reduce the trauma to a minimum, is the international This is the most widely used implant method in the world. Sun Peng: However, minimally invasive implants are mainly suitable for cases where the jaw bone is intact and there is no alveolar bone defect. If the alveolar bone is defective or severely atrophied, standard implant surgery plus bone grafting must be performed, and the anatomy of the alveolar bone must be observed by incising and turning up the gums to determine the surgical plan. Q: How long can a dental implant last? J.K. Chang: Generally, a successful dental implant can last for at least 20 years, or even a lifetime, if it is properly maintained. That is why there is the term third set of teeth. The first patient who had implant surgery had his dental implants preserved for 40 years. Sun Peng: It is also related to the material of the implant. The more the surface treatment structure of the artificial tooth root is conducive to the growth of bone cells, the better the histocompatibility, and the more reasonable the design, the longer the preservation time. Of course, the design and implementation of implant surgery is also closely related to the preservation time. Q: Are artificial implants harmful to the human body? Zhang Jianqiang: Artificial implants are mainly made of an alloy consisting of more than 99.5% titanium, which is biocompatible. At present, many artificial bones are made of this material, and no toxic side effects to the human body have been found.