Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 6 Year Program

First Year

Residents will provide patient care in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery outpatient clinic and operating room with appropriate supervision as determined by the attending faculty member and chief resident responsible for the service. Residents will be supervised by senior level residents when on call, when answering consults, performing procedures in the clinic / operating room until their clinical competence has been adequately established.  Once it has been determined by the Program Director that the resident has demonstrated adequate clinical judgment, the first-year resident will have the responsibility and privilege of providing clinical care autonomously for the following:

• Trauma cases with emphasis on mandibular fractures, dentoalveolar trauma, and facial lacerations
• Dentoalveolar surgery (all exodontia including 3rd molar impactions, all pre-prosthetic surgery)
• IV sedation
• Odontogenic infections with emphasis on extra-oral drainage
• Dental Implants (limited to routine single or multiple implants without the need of regenerative techniques)

The first-year resident will assist on more involved Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery procedures. Residents are required to read and understand assigned surgical and medical journals and texts by the Program Director, attending weekly preoperative surgery seminars, and monthly academic conferences which include Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery seminars, CPC’s, Applied Surgical Anatomy course, Oral Pathology courses, Journal Club and others. Residents will prepare for and successfully pass Step 1 of the Medical National Boards before the conclusion of their first year.

They will also prepare for and complete the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-service Training Examination conducted by AAOMS annually.

Second Year

Residents are completely off service and in Medical School completing required Medical School Clerkships.  If medical rotations allow, residents may attend monthly academic sessions and journal clubs.

Third Year

Residents have two medical school block requirements during this third year of residency.  The remainder of the year, while not on a medical school clerkship or rotation, the residents will provide patient care in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery outpatient clinic and operating room under the auspices of the LSU Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, with appropriate supervision as determined by the attending faculty member and chief resident responsible for the service. 

Residents will gain further experience with more complex dentoalveolar surgery, IV sedation, Dental Implant Surgery, guided bone regeneration, and assist on more involved Oral and Maxillofacial surgery procedures as they progress. The third-year resident will begin their facial cosmetic surgery training with rotations with our Board Certified Facial Cosmetic Surgeons.

Residents also participate in the Head and Neck Anatomy course during their third year of residency. 

Third year residents attend weekly preoperative surgery seminars, and monthly academic conferences which include Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery seminars, CPC’s, Applied Surgical Anatomy course, Oral Pathology courses, Journal Club and others while not otherwise engaged in medical school clerkships.

Fourth Year

Residents will complete five months of General Surgery rotations which include but are not limited to two months of Cohns, one month of Trauma ICU, one month of Burns ICU, and one month of Plastics.  Residents will also complete three months on the Neurosurgery service.  The remaining four months of the fourth year will be completed on the Oral and Maxillofacial Service in Baton Rouge.

Fourth year residents attend weekly preoperative surgery seminars, and monthly academic conferences which include Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery seminars, CPC’s, Applied Surgical Anatomy course, Oral Pathology courses, Journal Club and others.

The fourth-year resident will prepare for and complete the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-service Training Examination conducted by AAOMS annually. 

Fifth Year

During the fifth year, residents spend all 12 months on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service split between outpatient clinic and operating room, with appropriate supervision as determined by the attending faculty member and chief resident responsible for the service. Residents will gain clinical and surgical skills necessary to begin to manage more difficult Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery presentations. Residents will begin assisting the faculty in resident and student teaching on hospital rotations as well as at the dental school.

The fifth-year resident will enjoy an advanced dental implant intensive rotation for 3 months that includes sites such as:

• LSU Dental School
• Clear Choice
• Fusion Dental Implant Center
• Dr. Mike Block private office

The residents will also spend three months of their fifth year in Charlotte, North Carolina rotating with the Carolinas Center for Oral and Facial Surgery private practice. Here, the learner will gain experience with a heavy volume of orthognathic surgery, TMJ endoscopic surgery, primary cleft lip and palate surgery, cranial vault surgery, facial cosmetic surgery, and dentoalveolar surgery.

Residents will complete a 3-month rotation on the OMFS Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery Service treating benign and malignant path with free-flap reconstruction.

Lastly, the fifth-year resident will spend 3 months at the main teaching hospital advancing their knowledge on intense facial trauma.

During the fifth and sixth year, residents will participate in a continuity dentoalveolar clinic and follow their complex bone regeneration procedures and dental implant procedures from consult through case completion. The learner will attend their continuity clinic at least one day per week regardless of which rotation they are on.

Fifth-year residents attend weekly preoperative surgery seminars, and monthly academic conferences which include Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery seminars, CPC’s, Applied Surgical Anatomy course, Oral Pathology courses, Journal Club, and others.

The fifth-year resident will prepare for and complete the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-service Training Examination conducted by AAOMS annually. 

Sixth Year

During the sixth year, residents spend all 12 months on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service split between outpatient clinic and operating room, with appropriate supervision as determined by the attending faculty member and chief resident responsible for the service.

Residents will gain and master clinical and surgical skills necessary to manage difficult Oral and Maxillofacial clinical problems to include: extensive maxillofacial hard and soft tissue facial trauma and reconstruction, orthognathic surgery, cleft and craniofacial surgery,  head and neck benign and malignant pathology, temporomandibular joint disorders, facial cosmetic surgery, advanced dentoalveolar problems, advanced dental implant surgery including full arch cases, and ambulatory outpatient general anesthesia. Similar to the fifth year, residents will be responsible for assisting the faculty in resident and student teaching and play an active role in the development and implementation of patient care plans.

During the sixth year, the resident will rotate on multiple services:

• Chief of the Baton Rouge Service. 3 Months
• Chief of the dental school service which includes the Ambulatory Surgery Center housed within the dental school. 3 Months
• Chief of the main teaching and trauma hospital, UMC. 3 Months
• Flex Rotation tailored to the learner. This may include any of the OMFS services, private practices, or educational sites within the program.

During the fifth and sixth year, residents will participate in a continuity dentoalveolar clinic and follow their complex bone regeneration procedures and dental implant procedures from consult through case completion. The learner will attend their continuity clinic at least one day per week regardless of which rotation they are on except for the Baton Rouge Service.

Sixth-year residents attend weekly preoperative surgery seminars, and monthly academic conferences which include Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery seminars, CPC’s, Applied Surgical Anatomy course, Oral Pathology courses, Journal Club, and others.

The six-year resident will prepare for and complete the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Qualifying Examination via the fast-track option in leu of the In-service exam taken in prior years.