If you have been following my previous blog posts, you can really agree that I've come through a loooong way, working my ass off for me to get myself into where I am now.. Where exactly did I get myself into? In about 2 weeks I will be starting my D1 year of dental school!! OMG OMG OMG! Ok. So upon knowing that I got accepted, there's a 2-month extended vacation that comes with it (because almost all of the schools here in the Philippines start their classes in June) and I really didnt know what to do! I never considered studying in advance since NOTHING really prepares you for dental school, so might as well enjoy the break before stepping in to hell. So what I chose to do for the whole extended vacay was just watching Greys Anatomy, a medical drama series in a hospital setting, I'm pretty sure youre familiar with this.
The show has been airing since 2004 until now! (Perhaps the longest running TV show in history) they're already on their 12th season which is going to start this September with about twenty five, 43-minute-episodes each season. I'm currently on my 15th episode of season 8, and I'm afraid I wont be able to finish season 11 before school starts. Now this show never made me bored or something, every single episode just compelled me even more to consider being a surgeon myself someday. No, I take 'consider' back, it made me DREAM to be a SURGEON!
I know its too early to say this, that I havent even started my first year dental school proper yet, but I came across this only specialty in dentistry that doesn't need me to go through medical school all over again before becoming a surgeon: Nope, not talking about orthodontics, neither perio or endo, but OMFS (Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery)
OMF Surgeon in a very GreysAnatomy-ish action
What is OMFS anyway?
(source: International Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons website)
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is the surgical specialty that includes the diagnosis, surgical and related treatments of a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries, defects and aesthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws, face, head and neck. It is an internationally recognized surgical specialty.
What is the scope of the specialty?
What do they exactly do?
[*with pictures (all credits to their respective owners)]
1 Preprosthetic surgery (bone augmentation)
2 Oral and dentoalveolar surgery
(removal of impacted and buried teeth, cysts, etc.)
3 Dental implant surgery and associated bone grafting
4 Orthognathic surgery
(dentofacial deformities)
5 Facial trauma surgery
(facial bone fractures and related soft tissue injuries)
6 Reconstructive surgery of the face
7 Cleft lip and palate surgery
8 Facial plastic surgery
(rhinoplasty, rhytidectomy, blepharoplasty, facial implants, etc.)
9 Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJD) treatment
10 Snoring and sleep apnea correction surgery
11 Oral Tumor/Cancer surgery
Pretty cool procedures right? But just like any other specialists, OMF surgeons frequently work alongside orthodontists, prosthodontists, radiologists, pathologists, oncologists, ENT surgeons, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons and other medical professionals for optimum patient care.
Here in the Philippines, you will be needing 4 more years of residency after dental school (and of course not only passing, but doing very well in the national boards) before qualifying, and eventually becoming an OMF surgeon, which is longer than any other dental specialties. But with the scope of its practice? It sure is worth the time.
I do apologize for the lengthy post by the way. And I hope I made it as informative as possible 'cause I'm afraid I won't be able to write blog posts in the succeeding months. You know, getting in to the most prestigious dental school in the country also has its down sides: THE FREAKIN' PRESSURE IS ON! But I will still be posting updates about my dental student life in my social media accounts (links listed above)
So I guess this is it. Good luck to me!
Dr. Eric Raymund Q. Yu, DMD, FPCOMS (soon, soon, soon!)
I always have this habit of "claiming it" even though its very far from reality yet. But hey, nobody else will claim it for me other than myself! Hahah! Until next time.
And oh, don't forget to wear your smile. :D
-E.R.Q.Y.
