Oral and maxillofacial surgeons specialize in treating many diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, and jaws, and the hard and soft tissues of the mouth and maxillofacial region. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons complete a minimum four-year, hospital-based surgical residency, where they train alongside medical residents in internal medicine, general surgery and anesthesiology, and spend time in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), plastic surgery, emergency medicine and other specialty areas.
During their residency training programs and throughout their professional careers, oral and maxillofacial surgeons concentrate on the provision of all levels of anesthesia, from moderate sedation to conscious and deep sedation. They and their experienced anesthesia assistants are proficient in all aspects of anesthesia management; assuring their patients of a safe, comfortable and anxiety-free surgical experience.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is one of only nine dental specialties recognized by American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL), and the only dental specialty whose scope of practice includes the “diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects involving both the functional and esthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region.”