Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Concentration

Student selection is based on the following criteria:

1. Academic standing. Students must be in good standing at the School of Dental Medicine and current in their graduation requirements (i.e., not on probation). Individuals with grade-point averages above 3.2 and class ranks in the top 1/3 will be given preference.
2. Submission of a current curriculum vitae (resume). This should include previous education, class rank, current GPA, academic honors and pertinent extracurricular activities.
3. A personal statement describing the applicant’s desire to pursue further education in the concentration of oral & maxillofacial surgery.

1. Students selected will be enrolled in OSU871 (1 credit hour, S/U) during the fall and spring semesters of their senior year.
2. Participants in the concentration are expected to attend CDL 946 and CDL 947 on Mondays from 5-7 p.m.
3. Completion of an externship at an institution outside of the University at Buffalo. The externship should be a minimum of one week in length and should be completed at an institution that sponsors an OMFS training program. A log of experiences must be submitted. This requirement can be completed any time before or during participation in this concentration.
4. Clinical experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery: Students must complete at least one half-day clinical session in the oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic with Dr. Oliveira.

The goal of this clinical experience is to provide additional exposure to oral and maxillofacial surgery through surgical planning, operative participation, and patient management.

Prior to the session, the student must review the case and discuss the surgical plan with Dr. Oliveira at least two weeks in advance. The student should be prepared to present the case step by step, including the diagnosis, treatment plan, surgical approach, instrumentation, and post-operative management.

During the clinical session, students will actively participate in an elective surgical procedure of moderate complexity, such as torus removal, alveoloplasty, third molar extraction, or biopsy, according to the complexity of each case. Students will participate in pre-operative planning, patient preparation, the surgical procedure, and post-operative discussion.

As part of this experience, students will have the opportunity to scrub in and participate in a sterile surgical setup, including surgical hand scrubbing, sterile gowning, and gloving.

Whenever possible, the surgical procedure should be performed on the student's own comprehensive care patient. Students who do not have an appropriate patient must notify Dr. Oliveira so that a suitable case can be identified and scheduled.

Students interested in continuing with the OMFS concentration under the revised requirements must confirm their participation by July 13.