Oral and Maxillofacial surgery is surgery to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. It is an internationally recognized surgical specialty. In the US, India (and many other countries) it is one of the nine specialties of dentistry, however, it is also recognized as a medical specialty in certain parts of the world, such as the UK.
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon is a regional specialist surgeon treating the entire craniomaxillofacial complex: anatomical area of the mouth, jaws, face, skull, as well as associated structures. Maxillofacial surgeons are usually initially qualified in dentistry and have undergone further surgical training. Some OMS residencies integrate a medical education as well and an appropriate degree in medicine (MBBS or MD or equivalent).
They also may choose to undergo further training in a 1 or 2 year subspecialty fellowship training in the following areas:
Treatments may be performed on the craniomaxillofacial complex: mouth, jaws, neck, face, skull, and include:
- Dentoalveolar surgery (surgery to remove impacted teeth, difficult tooth extractions, extractions on medically compromised patients, bone grafting or preprosthetic surgery to provide better anatomy for the placement of implants, dentures, or other dental prostheses)
- Diagnosis and treatment of benign pathology (cysts, tumors etc.)
- Diagnosis and treatment (ablative and reconstructive surgery, microsurgery) of malignant pathology (oral & head and neck cancer).
- Diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous malignancy (skin cancer), lip reconstruction
- Diagnosis and treatment of congenital craniofacial malformations such as cleft lip and palate and cranial vault malformations such as craniosynostosis, (craniofacial surgery)
- Diagnosis and treatment of chronic facial pain disorders
- Diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders
- Diagnosis and treatment of dysgnathia (incorrect bite), and orthognathic (literally “straight bite”) reconstructive surgery, orthognathic surgery, maxillomandibular advancement, surgical correction of facial asymmetry.
- Diagnosis and treatment of soft and hard tissue trauma of the oral and maxillofacial region (jaw fractures, cheek bone fractures, nasal fractures, LeFort fracture, skull fractures and eye socket fractures).
- Splint and surgical treatment of sleep apnea, maxillomandibular advancement, genioplasty (in conjunction with sleep labs or physicians)
- Surgery to insert osseointegrated (bone fused) dental implants and Maxillofacial implants for attaching craniofacial prostheses and bone anchored hearing aids.
- Cosmetic surgery limited to the head and neck: (rhytidectomy/facelift, browlift, blepharoplasty/Asian blepharoplasty, otoplasty, rhinoplasty, septoplasty, cheek augmentation, chin augmentation, genioplasty, oculoplastics, neck liposuction, lip enhancement, injectable cosmetic treatments, botox, chemical peel etc.
Is a surgical procedure which deals with the correction of upper and lower jaw deformities surgically, by placing them in their esthetically pleasing position without altering the routine functions like speech and mastication. This cosmetic surgery is a staged therapy done along with the braces which will help to position the teeth in reasonably good position to that of changed position of upper and lower jaws.
Various congenital deformities like ugly birth moles, cleft lip and cleft palate deformities, lower jaw deformities can be corrected in a series of surgical procedures which will put smile back on an innocent child face and induce energy to live their lives on par with the rest of the kids. These surgical procedures in particular are done with very minimal surgeon charges as a social responsibility towards these suffering children.
Accidents caused because of various reasons like road traffic accidents, alleged assaults etc. will leave long lasting effect in the facial region due to fractures involving multiple facial bones. Unlike long bones of hands and legs, facial bones are 3 dimensional and setting this jig saw puzzle aptly back into their respective positions needs considerable training and expertise. Maxillofacial surgeons are specialists in dealing with any kind of facial trauma weather it is of bone or soft tissues.
Rhinoplasty also called nose job is purely a cosmetic surgery done by maxillofacial surgeons to establish adequate facial balance. Nose is the most prominent structure on the face and even minor surgical procedures on this part of the face will get remarkable difference in the architecture of one’s face
