Oral health is an important cornerstone of general health, the World Health Organization (WHO) will be “clean teeth, no cavities, no pain, normal gum color, no bleeding phenomenon” as the standard of oral health. In recent years, with the improvement of national health awareness and technological innovation, China's oral disease treatment has shifted from “passive response to pain” to a full-cycle management mode of “active prevention + precise intervention”, forming a characteristic path in treatment mode, technology application and hospital system with international competitiveness. In terms of treatment mode, technology application, hospital system and other aspects, it has formed a characteristic path with international competitiveness.
The main mode of oral disease treatment
Oral diseases cover a wide range of problems such as caries, pulpitis, periodontal disease, missing teeth, irregularities, temporomandibular joint disorders, etc. The treatment modalities need to be customized according to the cause of the disease, the severity of the disease and the needs of the patient, and the core of the treatment can be divided into four major categories:
1. Basic treatment
For common diseases such as dental caries (tooth decay), endodontitis, apical periodontitis, etc., the basic treatment aims at “removing decay, reducing inflammation and preserving teeth”. For example, dental caries requires resin filling after removing decay and preparing cavities; endodontitis or apical periodontitis requires root canal treatment (removing infected tissues from the root canals and filling with sealing materials), if necessary, with the use of microscopic endodontic techniques (using a microscope to magnify the root canal system and improve the success rate of complex root canals). Periodontal disease requires supragingival cleaning (scaling), subgingival scraping and root planing, and in severe cases, periodontal surgery (e.g., flap surgery, guided tissue regeneration) to control inflammation.
2.Restorative treatment
Restoration of missing or chipped teeth is an important part of oral treatment. Traditional restorations include removable dentures, fixed dentures (porcelain crowns/all-ceramic crowns); modern restorations pay more attention to “biocompatibility + natural aesthetics”, such as zirconia all-ceramic crowns (no metal base, avoiding the black line of the gums), inlays (minimally invasive restoration of defective teeth), fixed bridges (preferred when the gap between the missing teeth is ≤ 2 teeth). For half/full missing teeth, the “instant weight-bearing” technology (wearing teeth on the same day of implantation) and “all-on-4/6” implant restoration (only 4-6 implants are needed to support a half-oral denture), which have been popular in recent years, have significantly shortened the treatment cycle.
3.Orthodontic Treatment
Malocclusion (misalignment of teeth, ground-union, buck teeth, etc.) not only affects aesthetics, but also may lead to masticatory dysfunction and increased risk of periodontal disease. Traditional metal bracket orthodontics is still the basic solution, but invisible orthodontics (e.g. Invisalign, Times Angel) has become the first choice for young patients with the advantages of transparent braces and removable braces. In recent years, “digital orthodontics” technology obtains tooth and jaw models through 3D scanning, combined with AI simulation to predict the orthodontic process, which realizes the precision of program design; early childhood orthodontics (3-12 years old) uses the growth and development potential to guide the jawbone's normal development through the techniques of MRC muscle function training, Romo bite induction, etc., and reduces the difficulty of complex orthodontics in the permanent teeth period. The difficulty of complex orthodontic treatment in the permanent teeth period is reduced.
4. Dental implant treatment
Dental implant is known as “the third tooth of human beings”, by implanting titanium alloy implant to simulate the root of the tooth, and then connecting the crown to restore the function. China's implant technology has been synchronized with the international community, including conventional implants, immediate implants (implanted immediately after tooth extraction), minimally invasive implants (without flap), and zygomatic and flank implants (for difficult cases with serious bone shortage). Some hospitals have also introduced “digital implant guide”, which can accurately locate the implant position through CBCT data, reduce trauma and improve the success rate (clinical data show that the success rate of digital guide implantation can reach more than 98%).
the recommended hospital
China's oral healthcare resources are highly concentrated in public tertiary dental specialty hospitals and head private institutions, of which the four regional centers of “North, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Sichuan” have become the trusted choice of patients by virtue of the advantages of complete disciplines, cutting-edge technology and dense experts.
1. Peking University Stomatological Hospital (Beijing)
As the “cradle of Chinese stomatology”, Peking University Stomatology is the national stomatology center, and is a national leader in the fields of difficult and serious diagnosis and treatment, oral and maxillofacial surgery (such as tumors, trauma restoration), oral implantation (complex bone augmentation technology), and children's stomatology (early orthodontics), etc. Its “Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery” is the most advanced stomatology center in China. Its “Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery” has been ranked No. 1 in the Fudan version of the specialty ranking for many years, and it has completed more than 10,000 cases of difficult surgeries annually.
2. West China Stomatological Hospital of Sichuan University (Chengdu)
West China Stomatology is the birthplace of modern stomatology in China, known as “the benchmark of Asian stomatology”. The hospital has distinctive features in implant prosthetics (especially full-mouth edentulous jaw implants), endodontics (microscopic root canal technology), oral mucosal diseases (such as oral lichen planus combined treatment), and owns China's first “State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases”.
3. The Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (Shanghai)
The Ninth People's Hospital takes orthodontics, prosthodontics and children's stomatology as its core advantages. Its orthodontics department is one of the earliest units in China to carry out invisible orthodontics, and realizes “precise orthodontics” by combining with digital technology; the prosthodontics department is at the forefront of the world in the design of aesthetics for baked ceramic crowns and complete dentures; the children's stomatology department carries out “comfortable treatment” (such as laughing gas sedation and treating multiple caries at one time under general anesthesia) to ease the fear of children. The Department of Children's Dentistry carries out “comfortable treatment” for younger children (such as laughing gas sedation and one-time treatment of multiple caries under general anesthesia), which alleviates the fear of the children.
4. Wuhan University Stomatological Hospital (Wuhan)
Wuhan University Stomatology is nationally renowned in the field of periodontal disease treatment, and its periodontal disease specialty is a national clinical key specialty, specializing in comprehensive sequence treatment of severe periodontitis (including periodontal flap flap surgery, guided tissue regeneration surgery) and periodontal-orthodontic combined treatment (improving periodontal health through orthodontics). In addition, its technology in functional reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects (such as tongue reconstruction after tongue cancer surgery) has reached the international advanced level.
5. Representatives of private organizations: Ruier Group, Tongzhi Medical
The top private organizations are known for their service experience and niche areas. Ruier Dental, a subsidiary of Ruier Group, focuses on high-end general services, providing one-on-one exclusive doctor services; Ruitai Dental focuses on community-based layout, covering basic treatment to implant restoration. Relying on the model of “regional headquarter + branch hospitals”, Tongze Medical has formed a dense network in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other places, and its “implant center” and “orthodontic center” have introduced a team of international experts, and the technical standards are in line with international standards. Its “Implant Center” and “Orthodontic Center” have introduced international expert teams, and the technical standards are in line with the international standards.
The core advantage of China's oral treatment
The rapid development of China's oral disease treatment has benefited from technological innovation, medical resources sinking and the improvement of service system, which is specifically reflected in three major advantages:
1. Technological iteration synchronized with the international standard
From traditional silver-mercury filling to resin aesthetic restoration, from manual cleaning to ultrasonic sandblasting, and from “empirical implantation” to “digitalized guide plate precision implantation”, China's stomatological technology has always been in sync with the international frontier. Especially in the field of implantation, domestic implants (such as Chuangying and Bakant) have been gradually popularized and broken the monopoly of imports through the cost-effective advantage; in the field of orthodontics, domestic invisible orthodontic appliances (such as Zhengya and Dr. Keliell) have exceeded 30% of the market share by virtue of the localized design (adapted to the characteristics of the jawbone of Asian people).
2. Graded diagnosis and treatment and universal service
In recent years, the state promotes “oral health promotion program”, children's fissure sealing, fissure sealing caries prevention, periodontal disease screening into the basic public health services; around the world through the “dental specialty alliance” "medical association Through the “Dental Specialty Alliance” and “medical consortium” models, experts from tertiary hospitals have sunk into grassroots hospitals to enhance the level of dental diagnosis and treatment in the county. For example, West China Stomatology has cooperated with many hospitals in Sichuan to establish the “Stomatology Specialty Alliance”, realizing remote consultation and technical training, so that patients in remote areas can also enjoy quality services.
3. Popularize the concept of full-cycle management
From “treatment” to “prevention+maintenance”, China's oral healthcare is transforming from single treatment to full life cycle health management. In childhood, dental caries are prevented through fluoride application and fissure sealing; in adolescence, early intervention for malocclusion is emphasized; in adulthood, regular scaling and periodontal checkups are carried out; and in old age, the focus is on the maintenance of dental implants and the use of movable dentures. Many hospitals have launched “oral health records”, combined with AI prediction (e.g. caries risk prediction model) to provide personalized maintenance programs to reduce the recurrence of disease.
Conclusion
The treatment of oral diseases in China has entered a new era of “precision, personalization and full cycle”. Whether it is the minimally invasive basic treatment, the naturalization of restorative treatment, the invisibility of orthodontic treatment, or the intelligence of implantation treatment, technological innovation has always been the core driving force; while the synergistic development of public and private institutions, and the improvement of the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system have enabled more patients to enjoy high-quality dental services. In the future, with the implementation of cutting-edge technologies such as gene therapy (e.g. hereditary dental disease intervention) and 3D bioprinting (customized implants), China's oral health business may lead the direction of global development.