Conventional root canal therapy can not completely treat all periradicular lesions, especially combined endodontic-periodontic diseases, large periapical lesions and bone defect lesions. Guided tissue regeneration greatly improves the success rate of endodontic surgery in treating these lesions. This article focuses on the application of various grafting materials, guided bone regeneration membranes and regulatory factors in endodontic surgery.

The aim of vital pulp therapy is to preserve vital, healthy pulp tissue through pulp capping or pulpotomy. Pulp-capping materials are applied to isolate infection, promote odontoblast differentiation and reparative dentine formation during the progress. Calcium silicon-based materials play significant roles in vital pulp therapy with their favorable mechanical properties, bioactivity and biocompatibility. The present paper will review current progress for these novel calcium silicon-based materials used in vital pulp therapy.

Dentin hypersensitivity is mainly associated with abrasion, wear, acid etching, cracking, wedge-shaped defects, enamel hypoplasia, caries, a lack of neck enamel, and cementum coverage accompanied by gingival recession, resulting in direct exposure of dentin tubules to the oral environment. Dentin hypersensitivity is mainly treated by sealing the exposed dentin tubules and reducing the excitability of the pulpal nerves. Laser therapy, as a safe, fast and convenient treatment measure, has achieved good results both alone and in combination with other medicines and has attracted increasing attention. This paper reviews the research progress in the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity using several common laser therapy mechanisms with parameter selections in various scopes of application. A review of the literature shows that the Nd:YAG laser has a strong penetrating power and a large thermal effect and can denature and coagulate proteins in dentin tubules in a very short time; while the CO₂ laser causes little damage to the dental pulp and has an obvious immediate curative effect by high absorption of water molecules in hydroxyapatite and the dentin surface is melted and recrystallized; the Er:YAG laser has high water absorption and a large thermal effect and can block the tubules by evaporating the fluid in the tubules and depositing salts; Er, Cr:YSGG laser energy can be fully absorbed by hydroxyapatite and water and result in desensitization by cutting hard tissues and melting periodontal dentin of the tube simultaneously; The Ga-Al-As semiconductor laser and He:Ne laser are low energy. The laser dosage mainly changes the permeability of nerve fibers to potassium and sodium ions and depolarizes the nerve fibers, producing an analgesic effect. The combination of a laser with a desensitizer can improve the clinical efficacy of treating dentin hypersensitivity.

The human oral microbiota includes over 700 microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, archaebacteria, and viruses. The interaction between fungi and bacteria, as well as their impact on the host immune system, is currently a popular topic in the field of oral disease research. Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g) is the key pathogenic bacterium of chronic periodontitis, while Candida albicans (C.a) is a common opportunistic pathogen. P.g and C.a are associated with various oral diseases. A review of the literature suggests that P.g and C.a synergistically increase the amount of biofilm. They adhere to each other, promoting the formation of mixed biofilms. At the same time, C.a can utilize its dense hyphae and metabolic activities to consume oxygen, providing a low-oxygen microenvironment for P.g, thereby enhancing its vitality and virulence. C.a and P.g can also enhance their virulence through heme competition mechanisms and maintain the normal morphology of P.g by extracellular polysaccharides. In addition, P.g and C.a can synergistically invade the host and escape from the host’s immune system, ultimately leading to a state of chronic infection in the host. Based on the interactions of P.g and C.a, numerous studies on prevention and treatment strategies have been conducted, including those of various composite materials and natural plants. However, such drugs are mostly limited to phenotypes and suffer from poor selectivity, thus resulting in a lack of specific drugs and research on their mechanisms. This review aims to explore the latest advances in the bacterial-fungal interactions, highlighting the roles of P.g and C.a in oral diseases, emphasizing the importance of developing treatment strategies for co-infection of P.g and C.a, and providing new ideas for the prevention and treatment of related diseases.