The Concept of Sustainable Development of Modern Dentistry

Abstract

This paper concerns the assessment of the current state of dentistry in the world and the prospects of its sustainable development. A traditional Chinese censer was adopted as the pattern, with a strong and stable support on three legs. The dominant diseases of the oral cavity are caries and periodontal diseases, with the inevitable consequence of toothlessness. From the caries 3.5–5 billion people suffer. Moreover, each of these diseases has a wide influence on the development of systemic complications. The territorial range of these diseases and their significant differentiation in severity in different countries and their impact on disability-adjusted life years index are presented (DALY). Edentulousness has a significant impact on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). The etiology of these diseases is presented, as well as the preventive and therapeutic strategies undertaken as a result of modifying the Deming circle through the fives’ rules idea. The state of development of Dentistry 4.0 is an element of the current stage of the industrial revolution Industry 4.0 and the great achievements of modern dental engineering. Dental treatment examples from the authors’ own clinical practice are given. The systemic safety of a huge number of dentists in the world is discussed, in place of the passive strategy of using more and more advanced personal protective equipment (PPE), introducing our own strategy for the active prevention of the spread of pathogenic microorganisms, including SARS-CoV-2. The ethical aspects of dentists’ activity towards their own patients and the ethical obligations of the dentist community towards society are discussed in detail. This paper is a polemic arguing against the view presented by a group of eminent specialists in the middle of last year in The Lancet. It is impossible to disagree with these views when it comes to waiting for egalitarianism in dental care, increasing the scope of prevention and eliminating discrimination in this area on the basis of scarcity and poverty. The views on the discrimination of dentistry in relation to other branches of medicine are far more debatable. Therefore, relevant world statistics for other branches of medicine are presented. The authors of this paper do not agree with the thesis that interventional dental treatment can be replaced with properly implemented prophylaxis. The final remarks, therefore, present a discussion of the prospects for the development of dentistry based on three pillars, analogous to the traditional Chinese censer obtaining a stable balance thanks to its three legs. The Dentistry Sustainable Development (DSD) > 2020 model, consisting of Global Dental Prevention (GDP), Advanced Interventionist Dentistry 4.0 (AID 4.0), and Dentistry Safety System (DSS), is presented.

Virtual Approach to the Comparative Analysis of Biomaterials Used in Endodontic Treatment

“…Depending on the value of the potential and the level of attractiveness, which were determined as part of the expert assessment, each of the analysed technologies or, more generally, objects were placed in one of the matrix quarters, which were distinguished in the dendrological matrix of the value of technologies or other analysed objects. This approach has already been generalized and used to analyse many problems related to, among others, materials engineering, surface engineering, and technology of material processes, included in our own published works [1,64,69,132, and in the works of other authors [315][316][317][318][319][320][321][322][323][324][325][326][327][328].…”

“…Undoubtedly, one of the most important factors is the increasing incidence of caries and other oral diseases. Together with a detailed analysis of the territorial distribution of caries and other diseases of the oral cavity, this issue was presented in the authors' study [1]. The increase in the incidence of caries and the consequent need for endodontic treatment is strongly associated with the rapid growth of the geriatric population and the ageing of societies.…”

“…In dentistry, only two isomorphic forms of gutta-percha are used-β, which exists in a solid state and changes into the α form of gutta-percha at temperatures of 48.6-55.7 • C; the melting point is 64 • C. Gutta-percha in the form of studs or pellets is used in endodontics. The pure form of β gutta-percha is only 18-22%, and the rest is a mixture of zinc oxide in the proportion of 59-75%, barium and strontium sulphate in the proportion of 1.1-31.2%, as well as other polymers and wax in the proportion of 1-4.1% [1]. The addition of zinc oxide improves plasticity and reduces brittleness, while barium sulphate provides X-ray impermeability so that it is possible to identify the filling using X-rays.…”

“…There is no doubt that prevention should be developed very widely. Dental care should cover all social strata, including the poorest and preferably in all countries, including in the original concept of the sustainable development of dentistry [1]. However, the facts seem to indicate that in many countries, especially low-income countries (LICs), this postulate is impossible to meet to a large extent or even at all.…”

“…An important part in the development of dentistry [1,10] is to ensure the safety of dentists and dental staff in the face of the COVID-19 disease pandemic caused by the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The dentist is constantly exposed to infection because they are doing their job in the patient's respiratory tract.…”