Oral Surgery

Overview
Oral Surgery is a recognised international specalist training course in Dentistry.

In many areas of the world it is separate from Oral and Maxillofacial surgery (OMS, OMFS, or "Maxfacs"), which is a unique specialty usually requiring both medical and dental qualifications.

In the United States however, Oral and Maxillofacial surgery is one of the 9 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association and requires at least 4-6 years of training.

Oral surgery is a specialty is defined within Europe under the dental Directive 2001/19/EC (Official Journal of the European Communities L 206, 31.07.2001). It requires 3 years of further University training after a formal qualification in Dentistry.

The Directive 2001/19/EC also distinguishes Oral Surgery from other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised Medicine, such as Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, which requires both medical and dental training in the European Union.

In 2007 the United Kingdom's  General Dental Council  transferred dentists on the specialist list in Surgical Dentistry to a reconfigured Oral Surgery list.