Dr. Christopher J. Haggerty DDS, MD, FACS

What is an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon?

An oral & maxillofacial surgeon (OMFS) is a surgeon who specializes in surgery of the mouth, jaws and face.  Oral & maxillofacial surgeons must attend four years of college, four years of dental school, and have a minimum of four years of a hospital based residency after receiving their dental doctoral degree.  During residency, oral and maxillofacial surgeons receive advanced training in disciples such as general surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, medicine, anesthesia and pathology.  Some oral and maxillofacial surgeons go on to obtain a medical degree and complete dedicated training in general surgery and other medical surgical sub-specialties during their surgical residency.

The practice of oral & maxillofacial surgery involves the administration of general anesthesia, the removal of impacted wisdom teeth, the placement of dental implants, simple and complex bone grafting procedures, the surgical extraction of teeth, the exposure and bonding of impacted teeth, oral and facial reconstructive surgery, the management of facial trauma and the diagnosis and surgery for oral and maxillofacial pathology.  Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained to treat patients in the hospital, outpatient facilities, surgery centers and in their private offices.