Questions from MD Student applying to OMFS

[Theillestill]

you know you're comparing two very different specialties right?

ENT is a Medical Specialty.

OMFS is a Dental and a Medical specialty.

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[gryffindor]

you know you're comparing two very different specialties right?

ENT is a Medical Specialty.

OMFS is a Dental and a Medical specialty.

Maybe in Australia this is true. In the US, OMFS is a dental specialty.

I can see meristems point. If I decide today that I want to be an ENT, they'd laugh at me and question how an orthodontist could possibly want to jump ship to such a dissimilar profession. I can say that I work in the head and neck everyday and now I want ENT because I want to be able to do the surgical procedures I refer my sleep and TMD patients for. My guess is that I would be sent back to take the MCAT unless the med school where I did my DDS was willing to cut me a deal on the MD part since I took some of the same classes as the MDs. I'd still have to take the USMLEs and compete with the rest of the applicant pool. In this case we have the OP, an MD student asking how to get into a residency while skipping/shortening the DDS process and the competition for OMFS, all based on an ENT/OMFS rotation during med school. He may be a very qualified and top med student, but that doesn't compare to the dental curriculum. It's no easy feat staying at the top of your class in the DDS program to be competitive for OMFS by getting As in removable prostho and operative when you won't be touching any of that in OMS.

 

[DrReo]

^ Couldn't have stated it any better.

You went to medical school for 3 years?

 

[stp27]

I don't see why there would be an issue about someone going from MD into a DDS/OMFS program. Anyone willing to go through all the required training should be allowed regardless if they start with a MD or DDS.

 

[Bifid Uvula]

Well, I'm still in training technically. And I'm going back to my home insitution....once a resident, always a resident.

I wonder what it would take for me to follow the same route? I just don't know... I love the academic environment but holy crap the financial difference between academia and private practice is as wide as the grand canyon! Its almost insulting...

 

[Sauce]

I am a predent getting ready to start dental school next year and hoping to eventually get into OMFS. Is there a feeling amongst the residents that the guys that do the med route struggle with principles of occlusion and other necessary dental topics? I listened to a talk by a practicing OMFS and he said a portion of his practice came from fixing gross occasional problems caused by jaw fracture repairs done by ENTs and PRS guys. He said the common cause was when they would do orotracheal intubation the tube would get in the way and the patient would have a sever loss of chewing power not to mention jacked up occlusion and cosmetics. I have a feeling that this is more of an exception than the rule. Are OMFS better trained to repair jaw fractures because of their dental training?

 

[Bifid Uvula]

I am a predent getting ready to start dental school next year and hoping to eventually get into OMFS. Is there a feeling amongst the residents that the guys that do the med route struggle with principles of occlusion and other necessary dental topics? I listened to a talk by a practicing OMFS and he said a portion of his practice came from fixing gross occasional problems caused by jaw fracture repairs done by ENTs and PRS guys. He said the common cause was when they would do orotracheal intubation the tube would get in the way and the patient would have a sever loss of chewing power not to mention jacked up occlusion and cosmetics. I have a feeling that this is more of an exception than the rule. Are OMFS better trained to repair jaw fractures because of their dental training?

Its actually more the rule than the exception. Central to repair of facial fractures is restoring proper form and function.... This means a proper Anterior-Posterior Dimmension, Vertical Dimmension of Facial Height, Occlusion, and Facial Width. The key to this is getting a stable and reproducible reference point and this means OCCLUSION.

Top it off with actually having the knowledge and skills necessary to decide which teeth are stable, which teeth truly require extraction, which teeth may require extraction and then being able to remove any necessary teeth or root fragments. Also understanding the dental anatomy really helps minimize the amount of screws that get driven into teeth and other vital structures. The dental background and lab skills background gives you the ability to fabricate splints as well if necessary in the reduction/repair of fractures and establishment of appropriate occlusion.

Finally, you have the end result in mind... not just putting bone back together in what "looks about right" but considering the need for dental restoration with implants/prosthesis etc. You can bone graft the area if necessary and eventually place implants if they have the $$$.