Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery forms the very core of dentistry. It runs parallel to general surgery of medical field. As the name suggest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery includes management of a plethora of pathological changes of the jaws and associated structures. The scope of this science is so vast that it cannot be summarized in few lines.

SCOPE: The scope of Oral surgery ranges from dental extractions to major oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures. Due to the changing phase of the specialty from time to time, there has been great concern among many regarding the present and the possible future pattern of practice.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is defined as that part of dental practice which deals with diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects of human jaw.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery essentially deals with the treatment of the following conditions.

1. Simple and complicated extractions of teeth and related management.
2. Treatment of cysts and tumours of both odontogenic and nonodontogenic origin, involving the jaw bones.
3. Management of disorders of maxillary sinuses.
4. Initial and definitive management of traumatic injuries of soft and hard tissues of orofacial region.
5. Temporomandibular joint disorders including internal derangement and ankylosis.
6. Salivary gland diseases and their management.
7. Diagnosis and management of dentofacial deformities, either acquired, developmental or congenital (including cleft lip and palate).
8. Management of orofacial infections involving the soft and hard tissuses.
9. Preprosthetic surgical procedures including Implantology.
10. Precancerous lesions such as, oral submucous fibrosis and leukoplakia.
11. Detection and management of oral cancer.
12. Management of orofacial pain.
13. Reconstruction of missing portion of jaw bones with bone grafts.
14. Detection and management of facial neuropathy.

An undergraduate program consists of simple exodontia, complications arising from routine extractions like, tooth/ root fractures, tissue laceration, postextraction bleeding, minor postextraction infections, immediate management of medical emergencies in the dental office and minor surgical procedures like frenectomy and alveoloplasty.

With recognition of oral surgery as a dental speciality and improved training, hopefully, the student trainee will consider the training phase as a formative period, preparing one’s own self with basic principles and philosophy of oral surgery. By adhering to the basic principles and accumulating experience, confidence will increase along with the grasp of the variety and complexity of oral surgery procedures.