Hella folks!
Well this might sound a bit like self- promotion, but I’m tired of being stuck in professional limbo and will therefore go ahead with a teeny bit of self- promotion (for the sake of the OMS community).
In most countries, even with dual degrees and more than a decade and a half of training, most Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are stuck in a weird place between dentistry and medicine. We ourselves are sometimes not sure of our place in the medical spectrum.
I can perform a jaw resection/ reconstruction or a tracheostomy but I can also still do a composite filling if I have to do one to save my life. It was part of my early dental training and I do not think I can ever “forget” how to do one.
I can do a rhinoplasty (aka nose job), but I can also remove impacted (embedded in the bone/ jaw) wisdom teeth. We treat cleft- lip and palate babies and children and perform cosmetic jaw surgeries and scar revisions, but as a resident I also did oral prophylaxis (scaling and cleaning of teeth) as part of prepping the patient for surgery.
Therefore yes, the dual training comes in very handy. I only wish more people were aware of it and understood the scope and level of our training and expertise.
Anyhoo, I doubt if there are any OMSs reading my blog (nobody at my workplace is aware of this!) but if there are- here’s wishing you a fruitful and “bloody” OMS day. Spread the word folks!
And to all the to the others, here are some interesting videos for you to spend a few idle minutes on.
Have a lovely weekend folks!
Till next time..
Dr J.
Would love to hear from you folks! Do comment (email optional)