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Surgical specialties

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Diploma

Register interest

An evidence-led diploma in oral and maxillofacial surgery: the decisions that matter in facial trauma, head and neck cancer, jaw disease, facial deformity and the medically complex oral surgery patient, anchored on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and European guidance, with US differences explained.

Twenty-five weekly sessions across five modules take you from emergencies, infection and facial trauma, through dentoalveolar surgery and head and neck oncology, to facial deformity, the temporomandibular joint, facial pain and paediatric practice, taught live by practising specialists you can question.

Course director
To be announced
Format
25 live weekly sessions on Zoom, in 5 modules
Dates
Confirmed when enrolment opens

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Panoramic X-ray of both jaws showing a full set of teeth, with impacted wisdom teeth at the back of the upper and lower jaws.
Image: panoramic dental radiograph by Coronation Dental Specialty Group via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Who it is for

Senior trainees, fellows and early-career consultants in oral and maxillofacial surgery, and oral surgeons and dentally qualified surgeons who manage facial trauma, jaw disease and complex oral surgery, worldwide.

The programme

25 one-hour sessions in 5 modules, each with its learning objectives. This is the draft programme: the course director reviews and refines it before enrolment opens, so session titles may change.

Module 1 · Sessions 1 to 5Emergencies, infection and facial trauma

  1. 1. Odontogenic infection and the threatened airway

    • Recognise a spreading odontogenic infection that threatens the airway
    • Agree an airway plan with the anaesthetist before drainage
    • Plan incision and drainage of the involved fascial spaces
    • Choose antibiotics and recognise when treatment is failing

  2. 2. Maxillofacial trauma: initial assessment and the airway

    • Secure and maintain the airway in a patient with severe facial injury
    • Control haemorrhage from midface fractures
    • Recognise retrobulbar haemorrhage and perform the decision steps for lateral canthotomy
    • Prioritise facial injuries alongside head and cervical spine injuries

  3. 3. Mandibular and condylar fractures

    • Classify a mandibular fracture and choose open or closed treatment
    • Decide between open and closed treatment for a condylar fracture
    • Adapt fracture management for children and for the atrophic mandible
    • Recognise and manage infection, malunion and nonunion after fixation

  4. 4. Midface, orbital and frontal sinus fractures

    • Assess an orbital fracture and decide on the timing of repair
    • Recognise a trapdoor orbital fracture in a child as an emergency
    • Plan repair of zygomatic and midface fractures
    • Manage a frontal sinus fracture with cerebrospinal fluid leak jointly with neurosurgery

  5. 5. Dentoalveolar trauma and facial soft-tissue injury

    • Manage an avulsed permanent tooth in line with the 2020 international dental trauma guidelines
    • Splint luxation injuries and plan follow-up
    • Repair facial soft-tissue injuries, including facial nerve and parotid duct injury
    • Recognise injuries that raise safeguarding concerns
Module 2 · Sessions 6 to 10Dentoalveolar surgery and the medically complex patient

  1. 6. Third molar surgery and coronectomy

    • Apply NICE indications for removing third molars
    • Assess radiographic risk to the inferior alveolar nerve and choose between extraction and coronectomy
    • Consent a patient for third molar surgery, including the risk of nerve injury
    • Manage nerve injury after third molar surgery

  2. 7. Bleeding risk and endocarditis prophylaxis in oral surgery

    • Plan oral surgery for a patient on anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs without stopping them unnecessarily
    • Use local haemostatic measures to control bleeding after extraction
    • Identify patients at high risk of infective endocarditis and apply current UK prophylaxis advice
    • Explain how UK, European and US prophylaxis recommendations differ

  3. 8. Medication-related osteonecrosis and osteoradionecrosis of the jaw

    • Assess the risk of medication-related osteonecrosis before an extraction
    • Stage and treat medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw
    • Plan dental assessment and extractions before head and neck radiotherapy
    • Explain the evidence on hyperbaric oxygen for osteoradionecrosis from the HOPON trial

  4. 9. Sedation and anaesthesia for oral surgery

    • Select patients for local anaesthesia, conscious sedation or general anaesthesia
    • Plan monitoring and staffing for safe conscious sedation
    • Manage oversedation and airway problems during sedation
    • Adapt the sedation plan for children and patients with dental anxiety

  5. 10. Dental implants, bone grafting and implant complications

    • Plan implant placement using cone beam CT
    • Choose a bone augmentation technique for a deficient ridge
    • Manage peri-implantitis and failing implants
    • Recognise and manage nerve injury after implant placement
Module 3 · Sessions 11 to 15Head and neck oncology

  1. 11. Oral potentially malignant disorders and early oral cancer diagnosis

    • Classify an oral potentially malignant disorder using the WHO consensus
    • Choose the site and type of biopsy for a suspicious oral lesion
    • Plan surveillance or treatment by dysplasia grade and risk factors
    • Counsel patients on stopping tobacco, alcohol and areca nut use

  2. 12. Oral cavity cancer: resection and the neck

    • Stage an oral cavity cancer, including depth of invasion
    • Plan resection with adequate margins
    • Choose between elective neck dissection and sentinel node biopsy for the node-negative neck
    • Identify pathological features that need adjuvant treatment

  3. 13. Oropharyngeal cancer, the unknown primary and the neck after radiotherapy

    • Explain how human papillomavirus status changes the prognosis and treatment of oropharyngeal cancer
    • Compare transoral surgery with radiotherapy using ORATOR evidence
    • Use PET-CT to decide on neck dissection after chemoradiotherapy
    • Investigate a neck lump from an unknown primary

  4. 14. Head and neck reconstruction

    • Choose a free flap for a mandibular, maxillary or tongue defect
    • Use virtual surgical planning for jaw reconstruction
    • Plan dental rehabilitation after jaw reconstruction
    • Recognise flap compromise and act to salvage the flap

  5. 15. Salivary gland disease

    • Investigate a salivary swelling with ultrasound and fine needle aspiration
    • Choose a gland-preserving treatment for obstructive salivary disease
    • Plan parotid surgery that protects the facial nerve
    • Identify salivary malignancies that need adjuvant treatment
Module 4 · Sessions 16 to 20Facial deformity, the jaw joint and facial pain

  1. 16. Orthognathic surgery

    • Assess a patient for orthognathic surgery with the orthodontist
    • Screen for body dysmorphic disorder and unrealistic expectations
    • Plan jaw movements using 3D virtual planning
    • Consent a patient for orthognathic surgery, including nerve injury and relapse

  2. 17. Temporomandibular disorders

    • Diagnose temporomandibular disorders using standardised diagnostic criteria
    • Deliver and review conservative treatment before considering surgery
    • Select patients for arthrocentesis, arthroscopy or open joint surgery
    • Select patients for temporomandibular joint replacement

  3. 18. Obstructive sleep apnoea and jaw surgery

    • Interpret a sleep study and the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea
    • Select patients for mandibular advancement devices
    • Select patients for maxillomandibular advancement surgery
    • Recognise when distraction osteogenesis is needed for airway obstruction in a child

  4. 19. Facial pain and nerve injury

    • Distinguish trigeminal neuralgia from other facial pain
    • Start treatment for trigeminal neuralgia and refer for surgery when indicated
    • Manage post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathic pain
    • Decide when lingual or inferior alveolar nerve repair is indicated

  5. 20. Facial aesthetic surgery and non-surgical treatments

    • Select patients for facial aesthetic treatment and recognise when to decline
    • Choose between surgical and non-surgical options for facial ageing
    • Recognise and treat vascular occlusion after filler
    • Obtain consent for aesthetic treatment that sets realistic expectations
Module 5 · Sessions 21 to 25Jaw pathology, children and professional practice

  1. 21. Jaw cysts and odontogenic tumours

    • Classify a jaw lesion using the 2022 WHO classification
    • Choose between marsupialisation, enucleation and resection for an odontogenic cyst
    • Plan treatment of an ameloblastoma balancing recurrence and morbidity
    • Recognise fibro-osseous lesions that need observation only

  2. 22. Cleft and craniofacial care in oral and maxillofacial practice

    • Time alveolar bone grafting with the orthodontist
    • Plan orthognathic surgery for a patient with a repaired cleft
    • Recognise craniosynostosis and refer to a craniofacial centre
    • Plan the transition from paediatric to adult cleft care

  3. 23. Paediatric oral and maxillofacial surgery

    • Adapt facial fracture management to the growing child
    • Manage dental infection in a child, including when to admit
    • Recognise vascular anomalies of the head and neck and refer appropriately
    • Apply consent and safeguarding principles in children's oral surgery

  4. 24. Quality, safety and new technology

    • Use checks that prevent wrong-site tooth extraction
    • Judge when virtual planning and patient-specific implants add value
    • Use navigation to check orbital reconstruction
    • Audit the outcomes of a common maxillofacial procedure

  5. 25. Complex case review and professional practice

    • Apply the course to complex maxillofacial cases in a panel discussion
    • Present a complication at a morbidity and mortality meeting to drive learning
    • Fulfil the professional duty of candour after harm
    • Plan your own development towards a subspecialty practice

What the diploma includes

  • 25 live sessions on Zoom, one evening a week, with recordings for the weeks you miss.
  • Practising specialists teaching live, so you can put your questions to them.
  • Weekly MCQs and a final written assessment.
  • A digital certificate carrying your final classification.

Lead or teach the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Diploma

We are looking for a course director and faculty from the specialty. Sessions are one hour in the UK evening, live on Zoom, and paid.

Apply to teach