Introducing the Specialty of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral and Maxillofacial surgery is the field of specialty management of conditions related to the face, teeth, mouth and jaws.

This broad discipline is practiced in Australasia by practitioners with a wide variety of surgical and medical experience. The contemporary fellowship gained through the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS) requires basic degrees in both Dentistry and Medicine. This fellowship then allows AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency) registration as a Specialist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.

Without exclusion from regular training this amounts to 15 years of training prior to commencement as a Public Hospital based Consultant, Private practitioner or more commonly a Surgeon with attachments to both forms of patient engagement.

The core work in contemporary Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery relates to conditions affecting the teeth and the supporting tissues in the oral region.

This reflects the specialty’s origin as a dental profession. Surgical tooth removal including wisdom teeth, the management of benign pathology including cysts and tumours and the care of patients involved in traumatic injuries of variable mechanism is central to the OMFS sphere of clinical influence.

Minor and Major dental implant treatment plans in conjunction with restoring general and specialist dental practitioners is a continually expanding field for the OMF surgeon.

Orthognathic surgery is based on the correction of skeletal deformity as it relates to the dentition, occlusion and orthodontic treatment. This is a critical area of continuing development for Maxillofacial surgeons and has developed in concert with the accumulated experience of major facial trauma management.

To describe in detail the myriad of procedures performed and conditions managed by the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in this format is not possible but, the OMF surgeon as a Specialist must work within the collective team of Health professionals prevalent in any given region. The effective professional alliance with general dental and medical practitioners along with Specialist colleagues in related fields is paramount in order to provide an adequate and proficient service to the community