What do you know about Oral Surgery?

[Contach]

Hi, I'm a resident in the USA, but Canadian born.

 

I'm wondering what Canadian medical students and Canadian residents know about the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery / Oral Surgery / OMS / OMFS.

 

What has your experience been with them?

What is their scope, as you see it?

How do you feel their training compares to yours?

 

I'll be sure to chime in later if anyone has questions... Thanks!

[burrb]

Aren't oral surgeons dentists? I remember reading something about how it's like a fellowship after dentistry school, and some of them also have MDs. My only experience with them is that I was a patient once in an outpatient oral surgery clinic. Seems like they deal with a lot of oral cancers, pathology of the mouth and more specialized care that dentists can't/don't offer.

[NLengr]

Aren't oral surgeons dentists? I remember reading something about how it's like a fellowship after dentistry school, and some of them also have MDs. My only experience with them is that I was a patient once in an outpatient oral surgery clinic. Seems like they deal with a lot of oral cancers, pathology of the mouth and more specialized care that dentists can't/don't offer.

 

My understanding is they are also specialized dentists. The training is quite extensive.

[thebouque]

Specialized dentists. 2 routes to OMFS, usually after dental school and a few years of private practice or 1 year of general dentistry residency:

4 years of residency in OMFS

6 years of residency with MD combined (ie 2-3 yrs med school + 3 years OMFS).

 

In terms of scope, there is strangely not a big difference between the 2 routes. However, those with an MD might have an easier time to treat oral cancers (COMANDO surgeries). It's still a huge turf war between OMFS and ENT, and in most places ENT wins.

 

The bread and butter of OMFS is oral biopsies, implant surgeries and above all extractions (wisdom teeth etc). Most of them operate in outpatient settings (they have specialized clinics with small ORS and even anesthesia service sometimes), they deliver IV sedation themselves, and some of them have major OR privileges in hospitals.

Their training is good for what they're allowed to do.

 

Peace

[Contach]

All of the above is true. Specialized dentists, some of whom have an MD as well.

 

I'd like to add that oral and maxillofacial surgeons also do a lot of surgeries outside the mouth: mandibular/maxillary advancement/impactions (orthognathic surgeries), genioplasties, malar implants (and other minor facial cosmetic surgeries), evaluation of salivary gland pathology and management of temporamandibular pathology (occlusal appliances, steroid injections into the TMJ, arteroscentesis of the TMJ, and TMJ joint replacement).

 

Also important to OMFS's scope is that they do facial trauma - often shared with plastics/ENT at hospitals. We do frontal bone fractures, nasal bones, zygomas, and of course the mandible.

 

Inevitably, something like 85% of oral surgeons will spend most of their time in private practice doing teeth and mouth-related things - because that is what pays the most and is most conducive to the lifestyle they want.

[Contach]

Man this forum is dead.

[thebouque]

Man this forum is dead.

 

Well there's nothing else to add. Everything has been said about omfs, moving on.