science

Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Oral and maxillofacial surgery rather than just read about it. In short: Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) is a surgical speciality focusing on reconstructive surgery of the face, facial trauma surgery, the mouth, head and neck, and jaws, as well as facial plastic surgery including cleft lip and cleft palate surgery and rhinoplasty. Specialty An oral and maxillofacial surgeon is a specialist surgeon who treats the entire craniomaxillofacial complex: anatomical area of the mouth, jaws…

Key takeaways

Oral and maxillofacial surgery belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Oral and maxillofacial surgery to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Oral and maxillofacial surgery from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) is a surgical speciality focusing on reconstructive surgery of the face, facial trauma surgery, the mouth, head and neck, and jaws, as well as facial plastic surgery including cleft lip and cleft palate surgery and rhinoplasty.

Specialty An oral and maxillofacial surgeon is a specialist surgeon who treats the entire craniomaxillofacial complex: anatomical area of the mouth, jaws, face, and skull, head and neck as well as associated structures. Depending upon the national jurisdiction, oral and maxillofacial surgery may require a degree in medicine, dentistry or both.

United States In the US, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, whether possessing a single or dual degree, may further specialise after residency, undergoing additional one or two year sub-specialty oral and maxillofacial surgery fellowship training in the following areas:

Cosmetic facial surgery, including eyelid (blepharoplasty), nose (rhinoplasty), facial lift, brow lift, and laser resurfacing Cranio-maxillofacial trauma, including zygomatic (cheek bone), orbital (eye socket), mandibular and nasal fractures as well as facial soft tissue lacerations and penetrating neck injuries Craniofacial surgery/paediatric maxillofacial surgery, including cleft lip and palate surgery and trans-cranial craniofacial surgery including Fronto-Orbital Advancement and Remodelling (FOAR) and total vault remodelling Head and neck cancer and microvascular reconstruction free flap surgery Maxillofacial regeneration, which is re-formation of the facial region by advanced stem-cell technique

United Kingdom and Europe In countries such as the UK and most of Europe, it is recognised as a specialty of medicine with a degree in medicine and an additional degree in dentistry being compulsory. The scope of practice is mainly head and neck cancer, microvascular reconstruction, craniofacial surgery and cranio-maxillofacial trauma, skin cancer, facial deformity, cleft lip and palate, craniofacial surgery, TMJ surgery and cosmetic facial surgery. In the UK, maxillofacial surgery is a speciality of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Intercollegiate Board Certification is provided through the JCIE, and is the same as plastic surgery, ENT, general surgery, orthopaedics, paediatric surgery, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery. The FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons) is the specialist exam at the end of surgical training, and is required to work as a Consultant Surgeon in maxillofacial surgery. In the EU, OMFS is defined within Directive 2005/36 on professional qualifications (updated 2021). The two OMFS specialties are 'dual degree' dental, oral, and maxillofacial surgery (DOMFS) and 'single medical degree' maxillofacial surgery (MFS). In some cases a dental degree may be required to enter speciality training but in all cases the medical degree must be obtained before starting OMFS speciality training. In Poland, maxillofacial surgery has always been dominated by dentists and still the majority of current OMFS trainees are dental graduates. Since 2019, Norway switched from dual degree requirement for maxillofacial surgery to medical degree only. Similarly, Sweden has started several maxillofacial surgery training programs for medical graduates.

Canada and Asia In Asia, oral and maxillofacial surgery is also recognised as a dental speciality and requires a degree in dentistry prior to surgical residency training. The Canadian model is the same as the model used in the United States.

Pakistan In Pakistan, OMFS is recognised as a speciality of dentistry which requires FCPS from CPSP after 4 years BDS degree and a one-year housejob. The candidate has to pass FCPS-1 in order to commence their training followed by PGMI Exam (not in all cases).

India Oral and maxillofacial surgery, also known as OMFS, is a branch recognised by DCI (Dental Council of India). Becoming a maxillofacial surgeon requires a five-year dental degree followed by three years of post-graduate specialisation. Oral and maxillofacial surgery includes the treatment of complex dental surgery, including wisdom tooth removal, dental implant, craniomaxillofacial trauma, orofacial pain (trigeminal neuralgia) and jaw joint pain (temporomandibular disorder) management, jaw joint replacement for ankylosis and deformed jaw joint cases, Lefort-3 distraction for craniosynostosis case, jaw tumour and cyst removal surgery, head and neck cancer, facial aesthetic like rhinoplasty, eye and ear plastic surgery, facial cosmetic surgery, microvascular surgery, and cleft and craniomaxillofacial surgery. A maxillofacial surgeon is considered one of the required members of an emergency team. Almost 20-25% of trauma patients usually have sustained facial trauma, and that needs urgent opinion and primary management that can be better managed by maxillofacial experts.

Australia and New Zealand In Australia and New Zealand, oral and maxillofacial surgery is recognised as both a speciality of medicine and dentistry. Degrees in both medicine and dentistry are compulsory prior to being accepted for surgical training. The scope of practice is broad and there is the ability to undertake subspecialty fellowships in areas such as head and neck surgery and microvascular reconstruction.

Globally In other countries, oral and maxillofacial surgery as a speciality exists but under different forms, as the work is sometimes performed by a single or dual qualified specialist depending on each country's regulations and training opportunities available. In several countries, oral and maxillofacial surgery is a speciality recognised by a professional association, as is the case with the Dental Council of India, American Dental Association, Royal College of Surgeons of England, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Brazilian Federal Council of Odontology (CFO).

Regulation in the United States

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Oral and maxillofacial surgery claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Oral and maxillofacial surgery before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Oral and maxillofacial surgery ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Oral and maxillofacial surgery

In research: Oral and maxillofacial surgery appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Oral and maxillofacial surgery in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Oral and maxillofacial surgery is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Oral and maxillofacial surgery, Surgical specialties, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Oral and maxillofacial surgery outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Oral and maxillofacial surgery in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Oral and maxillofacial surgery means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Oral and maxillofacial surgery out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oral and maxillofacial surgery in simple terms?

Why does Oral and maxillofacial surgery matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Oral and maxillofacial surgery?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Oral and maxillofacial surgery.