Training Pathways in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Across the Globe—A Mini Review

Abstract

Due to historical reasons, many different training pathways exist across countries that lead to a degree in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Although it is generally accepted to be a specialty of dentistry, the complex nature of procedures being performed by OMF surgeons today, has necessitated extensive general surgical training. Many countries have thus made dual qualification mandatory, while others have extended training programs in OMFS with integrated medical teaching. In India, frequent contact with foriegn experts, availability of world-class equipment and efforts of individual surgeons has ensured that the full scope of OMFS is practised in select centres of learning. However, the MDS curriculum dictated by DCI has not conformed to the requirements of the specialty as practiced today. This brief mini-review of the various training pathways aims at comparing our system with other countries and attempts to draw lessons which could help improve future OMFS training in India.

Caracterización de programas de formación de especialistas en Cirugía Maxilofacial en Estados Unidos, Canadá y Chile

“…La cirugía maxilofacial (CMF) es una especialidad quirúrgica que nace del trabajo mancomunado de cirujanos dentistas y médicos cirujanos para el tratamiento de la gran cantidad de pacientes heridos y secuelados de traumas faciales, consecuencia de la primera guerra mundial. En el desarrollo histórico de la especialidad, precozmente, en Reino Unido se plantea la necesidad de una graduación odontológica y médica, incluyendo una formación adicional en cirugía general, a raíz del complejo quehacer quirúrgico y a la creciente responsabilidad en los casos a tratar [1][2][3] . Por otro lado en Norteamérica, y ante los eventos históricos de la época, se fortalecieron las posiciones gremiales que mantienen la CMF como una especialidad derivada de la profesión odontológica 4 y se abordó la complejidad mediante el desarrollo de programas de doble titulación, que en 2007 llegaban al 50 % del total de programas en Estados Unidos (EE.…”

“…Laskin, en 2008, reportó la existencia de cuatro sistemas de educación basados en los requerimientos de grado académico: 1) dental, 2) dental y médico, 3) solo médico sin formación dental y, 4) educación médico-dental sin grado (estomatología) 1 ; estos sistemas, además, varían en su organización curricular (Kumar, 2017). Dentro de los requisitos de ingreso adicionales se incluye, dependiendo de los países y universidades, experiencia laboral en la práctica dental y/o formación en cirugía general.…”

The Choice of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as a Dental Specialty by Graduating Dental Students and Interns: A multi-center Survey

“…Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is primarily a surgical specialty of Dentistry concerned with the management of diseases of the jaws, mouth, face and neck regions [1]. The scope of practice of an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon is not limited to diseases of the -teeth‖ as is the common belief among many, but is indeed very wide and includes many lifethreatening conditions of the craniomaxillofacial complex [2,3]. These include trauma to the craniomaxillofacial region, cancers of the head and neck, facial clefts, orthognathic surgery, surgical extractions of impacted teeth, diseases of temporomandibular joints, diseases of salivary glands, fascial space infections, pre-prosthetic surgery and osseo-integrated implants among others [1].…”

“…Because of the extensive nature of the specialty and its similarity to other specialties of surgery, many countries require dual qualification in medicine and dentistry before undertaking training in OMFS [1,3]. On the other hand, in countries where dentistry is the only required qualification, a prior exposure to the different aspects of medicine and surgery during the undergraduate and specialty training is compulsory.…”

“…On the other hand, in countries where dentistry is the only required qualification, a prior exposure to the different aspects of medicine and surgery during the undergraduate and specialty training is compulsory. Saudi Arabia falls into the latter category [3].…”