Just the Facts

A recent campaign by some plastic surgeons that questions the ability of oral and maxillofacial surgeons to perform reconstructive and elective cosmetic surgery has lead to some serious misunderstandings regarding the education, training and competence of those who practice oral and maxillofacial surgery, the surgical specialty of dentistry.

Here are the facts:

• Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are dental specialists who treat conditions, defects, injuries, and the aesthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws, and face, including the chin, nose, cheeks and bones around the eyes. They replace lost teeth with dental implants, remove cancerous tumors, reconstruct faces injured by trauma, perform cosmetic surgery and provide safe and effective anesthesia.
• Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are NOT general dentists and ethically cannot perform traditional dental procedures such as filling cavities and cleaning teeth. Many states, in fact, recognize a separate specialty license for OMS.
• Oral and maxillofacial surgeons complete 4 years of college, followed by 4 years of dental school, followed by 4 to 7 years in a hospital-based surgical residency alongside medical residents in general surgery, anesthesia, plastic surgery and otolaryngology.
• Unlike plastic surgeons, whose training must cover all areas of the body, oral and maxillofacial surgeons spend their entire residency concentrating on the head and neck region.
• Oral and maxillofacial surgeons pioneered cleft palate and other facial reconstruction surgery, and were among the founders of the current specialty of plastic surgery in the 1920s.

Anesthesia in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Office

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons rigorously trained to safely administer office-based anesthesia.

       The ability to provide safe, effective anesthesia to patients has distinguished the dental specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery since its earliest days. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons have the knowledge and training which, when expanded through daily experience, enable them to:

• Identify, diagnose and assess the source of discomfort and anxiety within the scope of their discipline.
• Approproatel use techniques of regional (local) anesthesia, all forms of sedation, general anesthesia, which are an integral componnt to the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are experienced in:

• Airway management
• Endotracheal and nasotracheal intubation
• Establishing and maintaining intravenous and arterial lines and invasive monitors
• Managing complications and emergencies associated with the administration of anesthesia

Considerations for using conscious sedation, deep sedation and general anesthesia

• Mental status, age or level of maturity of the patient
• Reduction of discomfort and anxiety
• Type and complexity of surgical procedures
• Conditions in which local anesthesia may not achieve desired effect