University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry

Overview

The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery offers a comprehensive postgraduate residency training certificate program that encompasses the full scope of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. There is a 4-year Certificate program and a 6-year combined OMS-MD Certificate program. The 6-year program includes a Medical degree (M.D.) and a Certificate for a one-year Internship in General Surgery. The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery also offers a range of internships, externships, observerships, and continuing education offerings.

Program Objectives

• Provide a well-rounded and balanced didactic program and clinical inpatient and outpatient residency experience encompassing the full scope of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery;
• Ensure that residents develop a solid foundation in patient evaluation, treatment planning, and management;
• Facilitate an environment for scholarly activity and collaboration, including research and publication;
• Recruit highly qualified dental students into the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency program;
• Encourage life-long learning and education;
• Train leaders in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Clinical Experience

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Outpatient Clinic at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry, the University of Illinois Medical Center, Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center, and Advocate Christ Medical Center are the current sites employed for surgical clinical experience. Thirty-four to thirty-eight months are devoted to clinical Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. There is a comprehensive didactic curriculum consisting of weekly seminars, imaging interpretation, clinico-pathologic conferences, morbidity and mortality reviews, case reviews, oral pathology seminars, surgical-orthodontic conferences, journal club, multidisciplinary implant conferences, and head and neck tumor boards. 

Clinical Experience Highlights

The 4 hospital sites give a well-balanced exposure to the full scope of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, with an emphasis on orthognathic surgery (supported by a robust referral base from the Department of Orthodontics), complex implant and reconstructive surgery, odontogenic infections and maxillofacial trauma, pathology and reconstruction. 

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinic is located on the first floor of the UIC College of Dentistry and receives a high volume of referral of patients from the Colleges of Dentistry and Medicine, as well as the private practice dentists and dental specialists. Residents enjoy a diverse experience in dentoalveolar and implant surgery and outpatient anesthesia in adults and children. There is a significant amount of implant case referrals, varying in complexity, made possible by grants and referrals from both the Department of Prosthodontics and the Comprehensive Dental Implant Center.

Also present in the Ambulatory Surgical Suite are ambulatory surgery capabilities under intubated general anesthesia. The residents are exposed to complex implant and reconstructive surgery (e.g. zygomatic implants) as well as orthognathic surgery in an ambulatory setting.

Additional Educational Training and Exposure

Residents obtain various degrees of exposure to all three expanded-scope fellowship areas of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery during their training program due to the unique training of the faculty members of the Department as well as elective opportunities. This includes Head and Neck Oncologic and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery, Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery, and Facial Esthetic Surgery. In particular, facial esthetic surgery is expected to expand significantly with the recent addition of fellowship-trained faculty. These clinical experiences will allow the residents to determine whether they may have an interest in pursuing Fellowship training following the residency program.

There is also substantial exposure to in-house digital surgical planning for dental implants, orthognathic surgery, and reconstruction. An in-house 3D laboratory with additive manufacturing capabilities and interdepartmental collaboration with various departments in the College of Dentistry augment the resident's exposure to be adequately prepared for digital dentistry and surgery.

More information can be found at:

https://dentistry.uic.edu/programs/advanced-specialty-programs/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgery-program