American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

  The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) is a non-profit professional association serving the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery, the surgical arm of dentistry. Its headquarters are in Rosemont, Illinois.

Founded in 1918, AAOMS currently has an affiliation base of more than 9,000 fellows, members and residents in the United States, as well as 250 affiliate members from nations around the world. More than 90 percent of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the United States belong to AAOMS. In addition to its membership, AAOMS has state component societies in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and eight regional component societies.

AAOMS publishes the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and conducts the Daniel M. Laskin Award for an Outstanding Predoctoral Educator.

     The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) represents more than 9,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the United States, supporting specialized education, research and advocacy. AAOMS fellows and members comply with rigorous continuing education requirements and submit to periodic office anesthesia evaluations to ensure that office procedures and personnel meet stringent national standards.

http://myoms.org/

 Through the AAOMS Website you will be able to find information such as what they do, who they are, what treatments they offer, informative videos, news in the Oral and Maxillofacial world and even find a surgeon in your area. 

Corrective Jaw surgery (Orthognathic Surgery)

   Orthognathic surgery is surgery to correct conditions of the jaw and face related to structure, growth, sleep apnea, TMJ disorders, malocclusion problems owing to skeletal disharmonies, or other orthodontic problems that cannot be easily treated with braces. Originally coined by Harold Hargis, it is also used in treatment of congenital conditions like cleft palate. Bones can be cut and re-aligned, then held in place with either screws or plates. Orthognathic surgery can also be referred to as corrective jaw surgery.

    The surgery is performed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in collaboration with an orthodontist. It often includes braces before and after surgery, and retainers after the final removal of braces. Orthognathic surgery is often needed after reconstruction of cleft palate or other major craniofacial anomalies. Careful coordination between the surgeon and orthodontist is essential to ensure that the teeth will fit correctly after the surgery.



Procedure: 
  

•    The surgery might involve one jaw or the two jaws during the same procedure. The modification is done by making cuts in the bones of the mandible and / or maxilla and repositioning the cut pieces in the desired alignment. Usually surgery is performed under general anaesthetic and using nasal tube for intubation rather than the more commonly used oral tube; this is to allow wiring the teeth together during surgery. The surgery often does not involve cutting the skin, and instead, the surgeon is often able to go through the inside of the mouth.
• Cutting the bone is called osteotomy and in case of performing the surgery on the two jaws at the same time it is called a bi-maxillary osteotomy (two jaws bone cutting) or a maxillomandibular advancement.

    After orthognathic surgery, patients are often required to adhere to an all-liquid diet. After time,  soft food can be introduced, and then hard food. Diet is very important after the surgery, to accelerate the healing process. Weight loss due to lack of appetite and the liquid diet is common, but should be avoided if possible. Normal recovery time can range from a few weeks for minor surgery, to up to a year for more complicated surgery.

    For some surgeries, pain may be minimal due to minor nerve damage and lack of feeling. Doctors will prescribe pain medication and prophylactic antibiotics to the patient. There is often a large amount of swelling around the jaw area, and in some cases bruising. Most of the swelling will disappear in the first few weeks, but some may remain for a few months.

Also, the surgeon will see the patient for check-ups frequently to observe how the patient is doing, etc. 

http://myoms.org/procedures/corrective-jaw-surgery

Path of Education and A Little Bit About Myself

To become an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon a long path of many years of education is needed. To become an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon in the United States the following is required;

• After graduating High School, you can major in any area but the recommended majors are; Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, or any major in the health area. (4 years)
• After graduating with a four-year degree, the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) needs to be taken.
• After a 4 - year major you'll need to apply to a college of dentistry in any University or College that offers the program (4 years)
•   When you're officially a dentist now you can worry about becoming an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon which in most U.S. schools is a program that lasts 6 years. 

Total number of years of education after graduating High School: More/Less 14 years

To become an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon in Latin America and Spain the following is required;

• After graduating High School or its equivalent you go straight to the career of "Odontologia" ( Destistry) in any University that offers the program. (5 years) 
• Now that you're officially a dentist you can now worry about becoming an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon which in most Latin American and Spanish schools is a program that lasts 4 years.

Total number of years of education after graduating High School or its equivalent: More/Less 9 years

The number of years of education depend on where in the world you plan on becoming and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. Also, this is only the rough plan of studies in the United States, Latin America and Spain. 

You might be asking, why is this person writing about this?...

   Well since I was a little kid my dream has always been becoming an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon; I just dream of the things I could do, the people I can help physically and psychologically. Today I'm enrolled in an United States High School as a senior (12th grade) and soon I will be leaving the United States to a Latin American country in order of achieving my dreams. 

In the next couple of posts I'll be emphasizing on the variety of procedures that can be taken in place by an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. 

Fundamentals!

    

    Oral and maxillofacial surgery is used  to treat many diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and Maxillofacial region. Internationally, it's recognized as a surgical speciality It is an internationally recognized surgical specialty.

                                                                                   

   A surgeon with this speciality is capable of treating the entire craniomaxillofacial complex; the area of the mouth, face, skull, jaws, as well as other associated structures. There is many surgical procedures an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon may do such as;

•  Dentoalveolar surgery which is implemented to remove impacted teeth, difficult tooth extractions, extractions on medically compromised patients, bone grafting or preprosthetic surgery to provide better anatomy for the placement ofimplants, dentures, or other dental prostheses. 
• Surgery to insert osseointegrated (bone fused) dental implants and maxillofacial implants for attaching craniofacial prostheses and bone anchored hearing aids.
• Cosmetic surgery of the head and neck: (rhytidectomy/facelift, browlift, blepharoplasty /Asian blepharoplasty, otoplasty, rhinoplasty, septoplasty, cheek augmentation, chin augmentation, genioplasty, oculoplasty, lip liposuction, lip enhancement, injectable cosmetic treatments, botox, chemical peel etc.)
• Corrective jaw surgery (orthognathic surgery), surgical treatment and/or splinting of sleep apnea,maxillomandibular advancement, genioplasty

   Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons are capable of diagnose and treat conditions such as; cysts, tumors, oral & head neck cancer, skin cancer, lip reconstruction, cleft lip and palate, cranial vault malformations such as craniosynostosis, chronic facial pain disorders, temporomandibular joint disorders, as well as other conditions.

   Surgeons with this speciality have to go throught a variaty of studies and preparation. This will be emphasized on the next post of this blog. :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_and_maxillofacial_surgery