Oral and maxillofacial surgery
medical specialty
Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) is a surgical speciality focusing on reconstructive surgery of the face, facial trauma surgery, the mouth, head and neck, and jaws, as well as facial plastic surgery including cleft lip and cleft palate surgery and rhinoplasty.
Specialty
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon is a specialist surgeon who treats the entire craniomaxillofacial complex: anatomical area of the mouth, jaws, face, and skull, head and neck as well as associated structures. Depending upon the national jurisdiction, oral and maxillofacial surgery may require a degree in medicine, dentistry or both.
United States
In the US, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, whether possessing a single or dual degree, may further specialise after residency, undergoing additional one or two year sub-specialty oral and maxillofacial surgery fellowship training in the following areas:
Cosmetic facial surgery, including eyelid (blepharoplasty), nose (rhinoplasty), facial lift, brow lift, and laser resurfacing
Cranio-maxillofacial trauma, including zygomatic (cheek bone), orbital (eye socket), mandibular and nasal fractures as well as facial soft tissue lacerations and penetrating neck injuries
Craniofacial surgery/paediatric maxillofacial surgery, including cleft lip and palate surgery and trans-cranial craniofacial surgery including Fronto-Orbital Advancement and Remodelling (FOAR) and total vault remodelling
Head and neck cancer and microvascular reconstruction free flap surgery
Maxillofacial regeneration, which is re-formation of the facial region by advanced stem-cell technique
United Kingdom and Europe
In countries such as the UK and most of Europe, it is recognised as a specialty of medicine with a degree in medicine and an additional degree in dentistry being compulsory. The scope of practice is mainly head and neck cancer, microvascular reconstruction, craniofacial surgery and cranio-maxillofacial trauma, skin cancer, facial deformity, cleft lip and palate, craniofacial surgery, TMJ surgery and cosmetic facial surgery.
In the UK, maxillofacial surgery is a speciality of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Intercollegiate Board Certification is provided through the JCIE, and is the same as plastic surgery, ENT, general surgery, orthopaedics, paediatric surgery, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery.
The FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons) is the specialist exam at the end of surgical training, and is required to work as a Consultant Surgeon in maxillofacial surgery.
In the EU, OMFS is defined within Directive 2005/36 on professional qualifications (updated 2021). The two OMFS specialties are 'dual degree' dental, oral, and maxillofacial surgery (DOMFS) and 'single medical degree' maxillofacial surgery (MFS).
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q504033. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2005 and 2021.
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