Patient Information
What is an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon?
To become an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon you must be qualified and trained in both Medicine, Dentistry and Surgery. Your Oral & Maxillofacial (Maxfax) Surgeon is a fully qualified Medical Doctor, Dentist and Surgeon.
Our surgeons have completed training in these areas and additional specialist training.
College examinations are an additional qualification which carry the recognition of your peers that you have passed comprehensive written, oral and clinical examinations to the highest level. We have achieved these qualifications or “Fellowships” with the Royal College of Surgeons London [FDS RCS(Eng)], and with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Dentistry [FRACDS] and also in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery [FRACDS(OMS)].
Our surgeons have worked in tertiary hospitals Dunedin, Waikato, Poole, Southampton, London, Melbourne and Adelaide. They have training in the full scope of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. The general areas of the specialty are:
- Oral Surgery – teeth, gums, implants, grafts and reconstruction
- Facial Trauma – fractures of the facial skeleton and soft tissue injuries
- Facial deformity – correcting facial appearance from congenital problems such as cleft lip and palate, facial dysproportion and cancer.
- Salivary gland disorders – stones, blockages, tumours and malfunction (dry mouth)
- Facial pain – with dual qualification Maxfax surgeons are uniquely qualified to manage facial pain
- TMJ problems – Temporomandibular joint disorders, reconstruction and replacement
- Oral Pathology- many disorders affect the mouth and Maxfax surgeons manage anything from ulcers to cancers
- Sleep Apnea – Wayne has particular training and experience with treating sleep apnea surgically and non-surgically.