Modern surgery has developed to such an extent that the body of knowledge and technical skills required have led to surgeons specialising in particular areas, usually an anatomical area of the body or occasionally in a particular technique or type of patient.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is the surgical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck.

It is often seen as the bridge between medicine and dentistry.

Main operations performed by Maxillofacial Surgeon:
A range of oral and maxillofacial surgical operations are carried out on an OPD basis under local anaesthesia or general anaesthesia.

These include:
Facial injuries – Management of complex craniofacial fractures and soft tissue injuries of the mouth, face, and neck.
Head and Neck Cancer – Access to tumours within the depths of the complex craniofacial anatomy, and ablation of tumours, including neck dissections.
Reconstructive surgery including microvascular free tissue transfer.

Temporomandibular joint surgery
Orthognathic surgery for the correction of facial disproportion
Oral implant surgery – includes the use of implants to retain facial or dental prostheses and associated bone grafting techniques as part of oro-facial reconstruction.

Removal of cysts and tumours of the jaws
Removal of impacted teeth and complex buried dental roots.
Primary and secondary surgery for cleft lip and palate, and other congenital facial deformities.

Management of benign and malignant lesions of the salivary glands.
Removal of complex facial skin tumours and reconstruction
Cosmetic surgery including face lifts, eyelid and brow surgery and rhinoplasties.

Due to the nature of the work, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons often work alongside a variety of specialists in other fields such as ENT surgeons, clinical oncologists, plastic surgeons, orthodontists, restorative dentists, radiologists and neurosurgeons.