Hello, my name is John Burbank, and I'm an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Over the
next 15 minutes, I'm going to provide you with an introduction to the scope of oral
and maxillofacial surgery, to help you better understand how oral and maxillofacial
surgery fits into the field of medicine and dentistry. Hopefully by the end you'll
give serious consideration to oral and maxillofacial surgery as a possible career
option. I'm now going to share with you a short video provided by the American
Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, that gives you a little bit of an
overview of oral and maxillofacial surgery, and then I'll delve into a little bit
more detail on each of the subject areas. I went to an oral surgeon. My facial
surgeon did a great job. I did see an oral and facial surgeon. My dentist sent me
to an oral and maxi- maximal. Maximass. Maxo... Maximillian, maximass. An oral and
maximilla surgeon or something like that. Officially, we are called oral and
maxillofacial surgeons and we're the experts in face, mouth and jaw surgery.
Members of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are trained
and experienced in all these treatment areas. Our work saves lives, changes lives
and makes lives better. Am not sure what to call him exactly, I just know he did a
great job with my dental implants. She cured my sleep apnea. He fixed my recessive
jaw. Diagnose my oral cancer in time to beat it. Took out my impacted wisdom teeth.
What you call us, isn't really important. But when you're concerned about health
issues related to your face, mouth or jaw, just make sure you call us. Why does
everyone has such a hard time saying "Oral Maxillofacial surgeon" Really? Let's
take a closer look at a few of the areas that make up the scope of oral and
maxillofacial surgery. Here, we see the major areas that comprise the scope of
practice for the surgical specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery. The areas
that are basic to the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgeons, are the
administration of anesthesia, wisdom tooth management, dental implant surgery,
dental and soft tissue surgery, treatment of facial trauma, and head neck and oral
pathology. Many oral and maxillofacial surgeons also treat temporomandibular joint
and facial pain, obstructive sleep apnea, cleft lip palate and craniofacial
deformities and perform facial cosmetic surgery and corrective jaw surgery. The
administration of anesthesia, is what makes oral and maxillofacial surgeons unique
within the surgical and dental specialties. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon spent
six months of our residency training working with anesthesiologist. So, we're
qualified to administer the full range of anesthesia, from intravenous conscious
sedation to general anesthesia. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons have safely
performed intravenous sedation and general anesthesia in their offices for decades.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons pioneered office-based general anesthesia to
perform facial cosmetic surgery and corrective jaw surgery procedures that were
previously done in the hospital operating rooms. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons
still have hospital-based practices, but for those patients with complex medical
conditions or who require extensive and complex surgical procedures. Oral and
maxillofacial surgeons are trained in both surgery and dentistry which makes them
uniquely qualified to treat facial trauma. Restoring the proper interdigitation or
fit of the upper and lower teeth, establishes the foundation that enables the
reconstruction of the bones and soft tissues of the face falling trauma to the
face. This patient was injured by an improvised explosive device in Iraq. The
initial surgery re-establish the fit of the upper and lower teeth and anatomic
repositioning of the bones and soft tissues of the face. The sever duct from the
parotid gland was repaired, and the damaged eye was removed. This patient was then
evacuated from Iraq back to the United States, where oral and maxillofacial
surgeons used bone graphs to reconstruct the nose, upper jaw and eye socket and
placed dental implants to replace the teeth that were avulsed from the blast
trauma. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons work closely with prosthodontist and
dentists to rehabilitate patients with missing teeth. When there is insufficient
bone to place the implants, bone graphs are used to augment the autrophic ridges or
to add bone to the maxillary sinus floor so that implants of sufficient length and
width can be placed to support dentures and crowns. Patients who have suffered
facial trauma, are ideal candidates for implants to replace lost teeth. This is an
example of soft tissue surgery to restore normal anatomic relationships after
trauma. This patient suffered trauma to her lower jaw that left her with scar
tissue along the lower alveolar ridge and was unable to wear a lower denture. A
vestibular plastic and split thickness skin graft were performed to create the
optimal shape and soft tissue coverage of the lower jaw, so a denture could be worn
by the patient restoring her ability to chew without pain. The most basic of all
surgeries performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons is the removal of impacted
wisdom teeth. Many patients who require the removal of their wisdom teeth are
anxious and fearful. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons have the expertise to remove
impacted wisdom teeth safely and expediently using intravenous sedation or general
anesthesia. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons pioneered and perfected the practice of
corrective jaw surgery also known as orthognathic surgery. Orthognathic surgery
literally changes lives. The goal of orthognathic surgery is to perfect the bite
relationship between the upper and lower teeth and to restore the facial bones to
optimize facial appearance. This patient had nine months of orthodontics therapy to
level and align the teeth, so the jaws could be re-positioned to perfect the bite
relationship. She had her lower jaw advanced, her upper jaw moved downward, her
cheek bones were widened and her chin was lengthened. Cranium maxillofacial surgery
is one of the most rewarding and satisfying procedures oral and maxillofacial
surgeons do. Lives of patients are changed in ways that words cannot begin to
describe. Children and adults with deformities of the facial bones and jaws, have
both debilitating and emotionally handicapping conditions. This young girl was born
with crouzon syndrome. This is a congenital deformity characterized by premature
fusion of the sutures the skull that inhibit normal facial growth. She underwent
several surgical procedures to remodel her skull and to reposition her entire
facial skeleton, moving the orbits, nose and upper jaw forward. This procedure not
only improved her appearance, but made her more confident to interact with her
peers, but also alleviated her obstructive sleep apnea that allowed removal of her
tracheostomy. System tumors both benign and malignant develop in the head, neck,
and lower region. Treatment of these pathologic conditions range from simple
enucleation, to complex and extensive resection. This patient had an aggressive
benign lesion called an ameloblastoma of her upper jaw. The lesion was resected
using an incision that extended through her upper lip, along the side of her nose
and just under her eye in order to have adequate exposure to excise the
ameloblastoma. The resulting defect was reconstructed using bone grafts from the
skull. Facial cosmetic surgeries in many respects is a subset of corrective jaw
surgery. Improving the facial appearance or reversing the effects of aging,
requires rearranging the soft tissue drape and skeletal supporting structures to
achieve balance and harmony of the eyes, the nose, the lips, chin, and neck. This
patient had excess fat removed from her neck [inaudible] muscle of the neck was
tightened and her cheek bones were widened. I cannot imagine myself doing anything
else but oral and maxillofacial surgery. It offers the best for both medicine and
dentistry. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is fulfilling, rewarding, and satisfying.
I've seen self-conscious, insecure, introverted patients evolve into vibrant,
confident, and gregarious individuals. The broad and varied scope of oral and
maxillofacial surgery has kept me excited and passionate for over 30 years. I have
taught, engaged in private practice and spent 21 years in the United States Navy.
Never a dull moment and never a second thought about the career path I chose.
Several polls, looking at the income of various professionals, rank oral and
maxillofacial surgeons in the top ten income earners for all health care
professionals. Oral and maxillofacial surgery continues to evolve. The next
advances will be in bioengineering and tissue regeneration to provide better
outcomes for our patients. I hope you'll take a closer look at oral and
maxillofacial surgery as a career option. Visit the American Association of Oral
and Maxillofacial Surgeons website for more information. Find an oral and
maxillofacial surgeon near you and visit and shadow them. Oral and maxillofacial
surgery may just be the career you've been looking for.