What is an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (OMS)?
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are dental specialists who treat conditions, defects, injuries, and esthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws, and face. Their training includes a four-year graduate degree in dentistry and the completion of a minimum four-year hospital surgical residency program.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons care for patients who experience such conditions as problem wisdom teeth, facial pain, and misaligned jaws. They treat accident victims suffering facial injuries, offer reconstructive and dental implant surgery, and care for patients with tumors and cysts of the jaws and functional and esthetic conditions of the maxillofacial areas.
With specialized knowledge in pain control and advanced training in anesthesia, the oral and maxillofacial surgeon is able to provide quality care with maximum patient comfort and safety in the office setting.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is the specialty of dentistry that includes the diagnosis, surgical and related treatment of diseases, injuries and defects involving both the functional and esthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissues of the head, mouth, teeth, gums, jaws and neck.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons recognize that educating patients about the procedures they perform is a critical element in providing the highest quality patient care.
Training and Scope of Practice
After four years of dental school, oral and maxillofacial surgeons complete four or more years of hospital-based surgical residency training. Their residency includes rotations through related medical fields, including internal medicine, general surgery, anesthesiology, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, emergency medicine and other medical specialty areas.
At the conclusion of this demanding program, oral and maxillofacial surgeons are well-prepared to perform the full scope of the specialty, which encompasses the diagnosis, surgical and related management of diseases, injuries and defects that involve both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the oral and maxillofacial regions.This includes preventive, reconstructive or emergency care for the teeth, mouth, jaws and associated facial structures.