Welcome to the Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UCLA. This website offers details about our clinical, academic and research programs, and we hope it provides you with the information you are looking for.

We are a team of academic surgeons committed to excellence in clinical care, education and scientific research. Beyond providing the highest quality of patient care in a compassionate manner, our mission is to train the next generation of leaders in our specialty, and to advance clinical practice through innovative basic and clinical research.

Our residency program is fully accredited, and the breadth and depth of the educational and clinical experience enables us to recruit and train some of the finest residents in the country. Our faculty is prominent in our specialty and several serve as officers of regional and national societies. Our research program is extremely successful. Located at one of the finest public universities in the nation, we derive from UCLA's intellectual and physical resources as much as we contribute. At every level, UCLA's spirit of excellence and innovation informs and drives our clinical, research and educational activities.

We appreciate your interest in our site and encourage you to peruse it to find out more about our educational, research and clinical programs.

• Teaching Programs
• Courses Taught
• Research Activities
• Patient Care
• Volunteer Opportunities

Teaching Programs

Predoctoral
The predoctoral program in oral and maxillofacial surgery is designed, based on its objectives , to expose students to the specialty and help them develop the knowledge, skills and values to become competent in performing minor oral surgery. The educational program rests on two central elements: a rigorous didactic program that combines lectures with small-group learning, and a clinical program that imparts proficiency in the basics of oral surgical practice. Beyond core surgical competencies, students completing the program will come away with a good understanding of the evaluation, diagnosis and perioperative management of the surgical patient. The strength of our program lies in the breadth and depth of expertise of the participating faculty and their shared passion for education. The blending of critical thinking and a humanistic approach to patient care with the latest techniques of surgical practice is a pervasive theme throughout our curriculum. We believe that our curriculum provides students with a solid foundation that they will use for the rest of their professional lives, whether or not surgery is a career goal.

The surgical education and training, assessed on competency , takes place in the junior and senior years and occurs through lectures, small-group learning sessions, and two clinical clerkships, which are evaluated through a Competency Assessment Form. Didactics occur primarily through lectures (Courses 442C , 473S , 463A , 463B, 463C ) closely linked to the assigned textbook. We are increasingly adopting a web-centric approach to ensure that course content is delivered with consistency to all students. The focus of the junior year is to impart a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery and familiarize students with the surgical environment.  A weeklong junior clerkship (403.06)  comprising of eight clinical sessions acquaints students with common oral surgical problems, including their appropriate assessment and management. A small-group learning session (tutorial) serves as a prelude to each clinical session and provides opportunity to review case simulations with a faculty member.

The senior clerkship (404.06)  consists of a 3-week period of expanded clinical experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The primary sites for the clerkship programs are UCLA (UCLA and the UCLA-Harbor Medical Centers), the VA Hospitals (Brentwood and Sepulveda), and the King-Drew Medical Center . The surgical clerkship gives ample exposure to a variety of oral surgical procedures.  Additionally, students are actively involved in the care of ambulatory and hospitalized patients under the direct supervision of faculty and surgical residents. The clerkship is a demanding and time intensive period in a student's professional education, but one that serves as a building block for the acquisition of advanced knowledge in the field of surgery, regardless of a student's ultimate career goals.

The Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery offers a structured “Surgical Track ” program for students interested in a surgical career. Directed primarily towards first and second-year dental students, the surgical track program combines individualized mentoring with an incremental exposure to the spectrum of conditions treated by the specialty.

Residency In Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
The Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, in conjunction with the UCLA School of Medicine and the UCLA Medical Center, offers a six-year training program leading to the M.D. degree and the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency certificate. The program includes three years as a resident on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service, two years as a full-time student at the UCLA School of Medicine, and one year as an intern/resident on the General Surgery Service of the UCLA Medical Center. For more information about the residency program, please refer to the admissions pages of the website.

The goal of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery resident training program at UCLA is to prepare a clinically superior surgeon who possesses the additional knowledge and ability to pursue a career in any aspect of oral and maxillofacial surgery, be it clinical, teaching or research oriented. The program offers strong clinical training, covering the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery. While on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Service, residents receive extensive training in dentoalveolar surgery, facial trauma, reconstructive surgery, anesthesiology, orthognathic surgery, oral pathology, TMJ surgery, implantology, maxillofacial radiology, orthodontics, facial pain, etc. Surgical cases are performed in the operating rooms of the UCLA Medical Center. For additional training in subspecialty areas, residents rotate to other services at UCLA and our affiliated training sites at the Harbor-UCLA and the Kaiser-Permanente medical centers in Los Angeles. The wide spectrum of clinical cases treated at our constituent institutions along with our dedicated faculty of preeminent clinicians allow us to offer unparalleled experience and training to our residents.

Internship In Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
The Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery offers a one-year internship position. This program is intended for dentists who are interested in gaining an additional year of education and experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery beyond that which is taught during dental school. This is an excellent program for those dentists interested in becoming oral and maxillofacial surgeons, but who desire additional experience prior to beginning a formal residency training program. The oral and maxillofacial surgery intern receives similar education and training as that of a resident in the first year of the six year program, with similar responsibilities. The intern also receives the salary and benefits of a first year resident. However, this one year program cannot be counted toward completion of a formal certificate program.

Preceptorship In Oral And Maxillofacial Surgery
The purpose of the Preceptorship Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is to offer a broad, expanded educational experience in all aspects of clinical oral and maxillofacial surgery, well beyond that obtained in dental school. This continuing education program is intended for general dentists who wish to enhance their knowledge of the specialty. It is also beneficial for those who may be considering a career in oral and maxillofacial surgery but would like to obtain a greater exposure before making this important decision. The program can also be beneficial for established oral and maxillofacial surgeons who want to acquaint themselves with some of the latest state of the art concepts. Preceptors can participate in the oral and maxillofacial surgery preceptorship program for periods of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.

During the program, preceptors take full advantage of all of the educational opportunities offered to UCLA oral and maxillofacial surgery residents. Preceptors attend all weekly conferences, seminars and other lectures, which are generally offered in the mornings and evenings. Specific lecture courses, such as head and neck anatomy, are available depending on the time of year. Weekly seminars run throughout the year, and include conferences on implants, orthognathic surgery, and teaching rounds. Other conferences, such as pathology review and journal club occur on a monthly basis. During the day, the preceptors are involved in patient care offered by the residents and faculty. Preceptors can observe and assist in the oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic and operating rooms at both the UCLA Medical Center and the Harbor/UCLA Medical Center.

Courses Taught

Predoctoral Courses
2nd Year

3rd Year

Research Activities

The Section's research activities focus on wound healing and facial injury and reconstruction. The Section's faculty members are involved in a variety of studies that range from modulating wound healing at the cellular level to interventions targeting the behavioral and psychosocial antecedents of facial injury. The research programs are funded primarily through the National Institutes of Health. In addition, our faculty serve on key committees of national and international research organizations, provide editorial services to specialty journals, and function as ad hoc reviewers for the National Institutes of Health Extramural Funding Programs.

• The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Research Group (OMFSRG)

Patient Care

Patient care activities for the Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery are provided at the student, resident and faculty level. The scope of services includes the removal of non-salvageable teeth as well as impacted wisdom teeth. Surgical procedures to assist patients receiving orthodontic care are performed as well. The resident and faculty doctors place dental implants and do related surgeries to rebuild deficient ridges or gum tissue as needed. Also available are services for the management of traumatic injuries to the teeth and jaws in addition to the treatment and reconstruction of pathologic conditions of the mouth and jaws including biopsies. The doctors perform consultations for jaw surgeries to correct bite problems, temporomandibular joint problems that require surgical intervention, and bone and gum infections.

The Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery operates a fully equipped clinic for the provision of care to patients requiring surgery. There are ten clinic consultation and treatment areas with two procedure rooms that are able to be used for doing more complex surgeries.

The clinic is prepared for and offers a full spectrum of anesthesia depending on patient needs and desires. The use of local anesthesia can be supplemented by conscious sedation techniques as well as deep sedation and full general anesthetic treatment when indicated.

Clinical activities are provided by staff surgeons in the outpatient clinics as well as the main and outpatient operating rooms of the UCLA Medical Center, the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, and the Harbor/UCLA Medical Center. The clinic operating areas are available for minor surgical procedures such as tooth removal, implant placement, cosmetic surgery, minor bone or tissue grafts and diagnostic biopsies of pathologic lesions. Major surgical procedures for the removal of large tumors, bone and soft tissue reconstruction of defects of the jaws, treatment of facial infections, temporomandibular joint surgeries, and management of traumatic injuries to the face and jaws are performed in the operating rooms of the Medical Center.

Volunteer Opportunities

Students or others interested in volunteering in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinic should contact Ms. Vicki Redmond at (310) 825-0834.