Shared decision making (SDM) refers to two - way communication between doctors and patients. SDM helps surgeons decide the most suitable treatment plan for patients based on the medical evidence and the preferences of patients. A standardized clinical process and decision assistant tools, such as verbal tools, graphic tools, and patient decision aids, can help the shared decision-making work effectively. Since the sense of facial aesthetics is individual and there are multiple treatment options in plastic surgery, facial aesthetic surgery is suitable for the application of SDM. In addition, medical service centers can also meet the personalized needs of patients, provide high-quality medical services for patients and achieve better treatment results with SDM. SDM has not been introduced into the clinical practice of maxillofacial plastic surgery in China, and its development is facing many difficulties, such as the lack of decision aid tools, the limited time of diagnosis, and the lack of doctor-patient communication. Research and development of standard SDM clinical implementation path guides and decision aid tools will be beneficial to the application and development of SDM in the field of maxillofacial plastic surgery in China.

After years of development, the advantages of computer-assisted orthognathic surgery have been widely recognized. However, the clinical application of this technology is challenging. Each step may generate errors from data acquisition, computer-assisted diagnosis, and computer-assisted surgical design, causing errors to be transferred from the virtual surgical plan to the operation. The accumulation and amplification of errors will affect the final surgical effect. Currently, digital devices, such as intraoral scanners, are being explored for error control, utilizing automation methods and algorithms, and implementing personalized bone positioning methods. Moreover, there are still many problems that have not been fully resolved, such as precise simulation of postoperative soft tissue, functional assessment of mandibular movement, and absorbable internal fixation materials. Fully understanding computer-assisted orthognathic surgery′s limitations could provide direction for optimizing existing methods while helping clinicians avoid risks and maximize its advantages to achieve the best outcome. Many emerging and cutting-edge technologies, such as personalized titanium plates, artificial intelligence, and surgical robots, will further promote the development of this discipline. We can expect future optimization of digital orthognathic surgical technology by innovations in automation, intelligence, and personalization.

Bone defects combined with tumors, infections, or other bone diseases are challenging in clinical practice. Autologous and allogeneic grafts are two main traditional remedies, but they can cause a series of complications. To address this problem, researchers have constructed various implantable biomaterials. However, the original pathological microenvironment of bone defects, such as residual tumors, severe infection, or other bone diseases, could further affect bone regeneration. Thus, the rational design of versatile biomaterials with integrated bone therapy and regeneration functions is in great demand. Many strategies have been applied to fabricate smart stimuli-responsive materials for bone therapy and regeneration, with stimuli related to external physical triggers or endogenous disease microenvironments or involving multiple integrated strategies. Typical external physical triggers include light irradiation, electric and magnetic fields, ultrasound, and mechanical stimuli. These stimuli can transform the internal atomic packing arrangements of materials and affect cell fate, thus enhancing bone tissue therapy and regeneration. In addition to the external stimuli-responsive strategy, some specific pathological microenvironments, such as excess reactive oxygen species and mild acidity in tumors, specific pH reduction and enzymes secreted by bacteria in severe infection, and electronegative potential in bone defect sites, could be used as biochemical triggers to activate bone disease therapy and bone regeneration. Herein, we summarize and discuss the rational construction of versatile biomaterials with bone therapeutic and regenerative functions. The specific mechanisms, clinical applications, and existing limitations of the newly designed biomaterials are also clarified.