Oral surgery (synonym: dental surgery) is a branch of dentistry that encompasses “dental surgery, including the treatment of luxations and fractures in the area of dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery (jaw fracture treatment), as well as the corresponding diagnostics”. Furthermore, oral surgery deals with the recognition, diagnosis and therapy of benign (benign) and malignant (malignant) changes and neoplasms in the area of the skin and mucous membrane of the mouth, jaw and face. Oral surgery – along with periodontology (the study of the periodontal apparatus), orthodontics and public health – is one of the area designations in dentistry that can be acquired by licensed dentists through at least four years of full-time continuing education with a final examination. Thereafter, the dentist who has undergone further training may call himself a “specialist in oral surgery” and is also called an “oral surgeon”.The model further training regulations list an extensive catalog of operations that must be demonstrated during further training. These include:
- Biopsies (surgical removal of a tissue or tissue part for diagnostic purposes) or Probeexzisionen (PE; surgical removal of a tissue or tissue part for diagnostic purposes).
- Surgical removal of foreign bodies
- Surgical periodontitis treatment
- Removal of displaced teeth
- Hemisection (removal of one or more roots of a multi-rooted tooth), premolarization (division of a molar tooth at its point of division (bifurcation) into its individual roots).
- Implantology
- Bone surgery (bone augmentation, augmentation, removal of bone changes).
- Lip and tongue frenulum correction.
- Surgical removal of wisdom teeth
- Tumor surgery – treatment of neoplasms (new formations) in the dental, oral and maxillofacial region.
- Root tip resection (WSR) as part of surgical endodontics (branch of dentistry that focuses on diseases of the pulp-dentin complex and periapical tissues; the most common treatments in endodontics are root canal treatments).
- Tooth extraction (tooth removal).
- Tooth transplantation and reimplantation
- Cystostomy (artificial creation of an exit, called a window, to the oral cavity; odontogenic cysts), cystectomy (surgical removal of a cyst).
The main services of oral surgery are presented below.