Clinic : About OMFS

What is oral and maxillofacial surgery?

OMFS is the specialty of dentistry that includes the diagnosis, surgical, and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects, including both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissue of the oral and maxillofacial region. What this really means is that we deal with the diagnosis and management of problems from the upper part of the neck up to the orbits excluding the nasopharynx and larynx which are the province of the ENT surgeons. In this area, we do overlap with many other medical specialties including general surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, otorhinolaryngology and ophthalmology.We are one of the six recognized specialties of dentistry (the others are orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics and oral pathology). Many oral and maxillofacial surgeons also have medical degrees (the training program at UCSF incorporates a medical degree in its training), and much of our work is carried out in hospitals alongside other medical specialties.

What are our areas of expertise?

1. The diagnosis and the surgical management of acquired and developmental dentofacial deformities leading to malocclusions.
2. The diagnosis and care of patients with facial and dentoalveolar infections.
3. Evaluation and management of patients suffering from maxillofacial trauma.
4. The diagnosis and management of patients suffering from temporomandibular joint disorders.
5. The diagnosis and management of oral pathological lesions including oral cancer.
6. The diagnosis and management of secondary cleft lip and palate deformities.
7. The diagnosis and management of salivary gland disorders.
8. The provision of maxillofacial cosmetic surgical procedures.
9. The provision of dental and maxillofacial implants for securing a variety of dental and maxillofacial prosthesis.
10. The diagnosis and management of dentoalveolar pathology including impacted and malpositioned teeth.
11. Surgical reconstruction following hard or soft tissue loss from trauma, infection or pathology.
12. Ambulatory anesthesia for surgical and other dental procedures.

We make use of all the diagnostic facilities of the UCSF medical center and admit patients to UCSF, Moffitt/Long hospital, San Francisco General Hospital, Mt. Zion Hospital and the Veterans Administration Medical Center.

We offer a Hospital Dentistry service where a hospital-trained general dentist provides routine dentistry for the developmentally disabled, dental phobic or medically compromised patients who receive routine dentistry under general anesthesia in the Surgery Center. This service is a great value to the mentally and physically challenged patients in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The department also houses the Orofacial Pain Clinic for patients suffering from a variety of facial pains, including temporomandibular joint-related dysfunction. The Clinic has access to a variety of treatment modalities and has the services of a pharmacist, psychologist, acupuncturist, and physical therapist.