Board-Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
Lewiston, ID
 Like any other medical specialists, oral & maxillofacial surgeons need to have specialized training and board certification in order to practice oral surgery. After they finish medical and dental school, they will take an exam offered by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Passing this exam means that they are now board-certified and can legally provide the service. This is similar to board certification for other medical professionals as well as teachers and lawyers. Oral & Facial Surgery provides more in-depth details on the training for oral & maxillofacial surgeons.
Education
According to the American Association of oral and maxillofacial surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained to recognize and treat a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. They are also trained to administer anesthesia and provide care in an office setting. They treat problems such as the extraction of wisdom teeth, misaligned jaws, tumors and cysts of the jaw and mouth, and to perform dental implant surgery. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a surgical specialty recognized by the American College of Surgeons and is one of nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association, the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.
Typical training for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon includes:
| • |
Two to four years undergraduate study (BS, BA, or equivalent degrees).
|
| • |
Four years dental study (DMD, BDent, DDS or BDS).
|
| • |
Four to six years residency training (six years includes two additional years for acquiring a medical degree). |
After completion of surgical training most undertake final specialty examinations. The certifying body in the United States is the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
The average total length of education and training after secondary school is 12 to 14 years.
Areas of Expertise
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons work with a variety of dentofacial injuries and diseases. This is a specialty field which treats conditions that are too complex for general dental practices. Some common treatments that board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeons provide are dental implants, orthognathic (jaw) surgery, tooth extractions, treatment of facial trauma, treatment for temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), facial reconstructive surgery, and tumor removal.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons often work alongside other medical specialists, especially for complex cases.
Call Oral & Facial Surgery in the Lewiston/Clarkston region at 208-743-1640 or in the Moscow/Pullman region at 509-330-5020 to learn more about our Board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeons. |
