August 6th, 2024
Never Fear, Your Oral Surgeon Is Here!
When it comes to protecting your smile, trust your oral and maxillofacial surgeon for help.
Your smile is one of your best, and most important, features. And anything that can threaten your smile, like injury or disease, can be scary. That’s where oral and maxillofacial surgeons come in. They’re trained to provide precise care for your teeth, jaw, neck, and face. They’ve undergone years of education and rigorous certifications to accurately assess illness, administer anesthesia, perform surgery, and aid patients along their recovery journeys. Simply put, oral and maxillofacial surgeons are smile protectors!
What Is an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon?
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are advanced specialists. Think of them as the superheroes of smiles and their ability to provide complex levels of care is their superpower. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons typically spend 12-14 years earning their degrees. This includes two to four years of undergraduate study, four years of dental school, and four to six years in a residency program. After graduation, many surgeons will choose to pursue a fellowship in a specific area or field, which can be anywhere from one to two years. Altogether, your surgeon will have spent well over a decade learning, training, and developing their skills before they start treating patients on their own.
They will also undergo pain management certification, so they can safely administer anesthesia or other local pain medication while in-office. This intense level of dedication is necessary to properly help patients who are suffering from head and neck cancer, seeking reconstructive or corrective facial surgery, or living with chronic pain keeping them from eating or talking.
What Do Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Treat?
When facing an injury or illness, it’s always comforting to know that you have an expert fighting for you. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained to diagnose and treat injuries, illnesses, or anomalies to the head, neck, face, jaw, and hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region, these include:
- TMJ Disorder
- Impacted Wisdom Teeth
- Misaligned Jaws
- Broken or Missing Teeth Requiring Dental Implants
- Bone Grafts
- Injuries to the Face and Neck
- Head and Neck Cancers
- And much more
Your surgeon will provide an initial assessment and offer you a unique treatment plan that follows a family-focused approach to care. That means the needs and opinions of patients, caregivers, doctors, and parents (if necessary), will all be considered. They will then work with you over the following months or years to achieve the best clinical and aesthetic results possible.
The goal of every oral and maxillofacial surgeon is to help their patients live a life free of pain or discomfort. They specialize in building happy, healthy lives, which is the best reason of all to smile.
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