Profile of the Specialty

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is one of the smaller surgical specialties but none the less plays a vital role within the Health Service providing health care to a vast range of conditions presenting in the anatomical region of the head and neck.

The specialty is unique in requiring a dual qualification in medicine and dentistry and is a recognised international specialty which within Europe is defined under the medical directives. The scope of the specialty is very large with important linkages with many other disciplines in medicine and dentistry and will be described under the following sections which are continually being developed within the United Kingdom.