What do oral and maxillofacial specialists do? Oral and maxillofacial surgery is the surgical specialty in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases that are affecting mouth, jaws, neck and face. It is often believed as the link between medicine and dentistry.
The extensive scope of this specialty includes the diagnosis and management of salivary gland diseases, facial injuries, facial disproportion, facial pain, impacted teeth, head and neck cancers, cysts and tumors of the jaws as well as several other problems affecting the oral mucosa such as infections and mouth ulcers. Present surgery has advanced to such a great extent that the knowledge and technical skills required have led to surgeons specializing in specific areas. STANDARD SUB-SPECIALTIES OF ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY Surgeons may choose to train or specialize in one or more of these specialized fields of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery; 1. Oral and Maxillofacial - This specialty deals with: surgery of the teeth, jaws, temporomandibular joints, facial skin lesions and salivary glands. 2. Surgery for head and neck cancer - This specialty deals with: the removal of the tumors and successive reconstruction. 3. Surgery for craniofacial facial irregularities - This specialty involves: the correction of congenital facial deformity to improve oro-facial functions and overcome facial disfigurement. 4. Oral Medicine - This specialty involves: diagnosis and management of medical conditions in cervico-facial structures. 5. Cranio-maxillofacial Trauma - This specialty deals in treating facial soft and hard tissue injuries of the craniofacial structures. 6. Cosmetic facial surgery – This specialty involve surgery that enhances facial aesthetics.
APPLICATION OF LASER IN ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY CO2 laser is used in oral and maxillofacial surgery for all soft tissues procedures such as gingivectomies, frenectomies, vestibuloplasties and operculectomies. The wavelength of CO 2 laser is 10.600 nm which is quite safe around implants and thus the laser is gaining a great popularity in the field of periodontology. DUTIES OF MAXILLOFACIAL SPECIALIST Maxillofacial Specialist, San Diego, helps in the following; 1.
Providing safe and effective office anesthesia
2.
Correcting facial injuries; managing soft tissue injuries of mouth, neck and face; and dealing with complex craniofacial fractures
3.
Removing complex buried dental roots
4.
Dentoalveolar surgery (to extract impacted teeth)
5.
Onocologic surgery (to remove cysts and tumors of the jaws)
6.
Management of malignant lesions of the salivary glands
7.
Handling reconstructive surgery (microvascular free tissue transfer)
8.
Orthognathic surgery (for correction of facial disproportion)
9.
Pre-implant surgery (bone grafting)
10.
Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate Surgery (for correction of cleft lip)
11.
Cosmetic surgery (face lifts, eyelid and brow surgery)
12.
Temporomandibular joint surgery (to relieve jaw pain)
So, the Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are those trained specialists who can recognize and treat a wide spectrum of defects, diseases and injuries in the neck, head, face, jaws, and the tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region.