Trained and specializing in surgical facial reconstruction and jaw surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (OMFS) are specially and specifically trained in the anatomy and physiology of the facial structures including bone, muscle, nerve and tissue relationships of the face, head and neck. For this reason, an OMFS has vast knowledge and extensive expertise in this defined area of the body.
Maxillofacial Surgery Training
An OMFS earns a degree as a dentist before pursuing four or more years of continued education and residency training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. This pre-residency training also involves tuning the eye to smaller and more minute details, providing him or her with “THE ESTHETIC EYE”. The residency training includes training in Plastic Surgery, Otolaryngology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology. In fact, an OMFS is generally trained, more than any other physician, excluding Anesthesiologists, to provide general anesthesia and/or IV sedation, especially in an out-patient setting.
The Cosmetic Connection
Perma Facial Implant for lip augmentation
3-Dimensional Consideration
For example; a patient who has undergone tissue augmentation of the cheeks and/or lips without satisfactory results may
chin augmentation
have an underlying skeletal abnormality or even missing teeth causing a sunken or hollow appearance. Correction of this problem can often be achieved surgically through the inside of the mouth, negating the need for any visible external scarring and possibly reducing or eliminating the need for facial tissue augmentation altogether.
Complete Facial Cosmetics
Treating the face, skin and jaws as a whole provides more complete and longer lasting results. An OMFS’s clinical understanding of the dental, skeletal and tissue relationships in facial esthetics, along with the “ESTHETIC EYE”, make him/her an ideal specialist for cosmetic facial surgery.