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