LSU Health Sciences Center

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program

The 4-year Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at Louisiana State University is a CODA approved training program.  The residents who complete this program fulfill the prerequisites and requirements of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and are eligible for the board’s examination. 

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. The first-year resident will spend 2 months on a clinical medicine service such as Internal Medicine and/or Cardiology. The resident will spend the remainder 10 months of their first year on the OMFS service in various clinical sites.

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 participate in the Head and Neck Anatomy course during their first year of residency and they will also prepare for and complete the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-service Training Examination conducted by AAOMS annually.

Second Year

The second-year resident will spend the entirety of this year on off service rotations fulfilling the requirements set forth by CODA. Residents will complete the following rotations:

  • Five Months of Anesthesia
    • 3 Months at the VA Hospital
    • 2 Months at Children’s Hospital
  • Four Months with the General Surgery Service (TICU, Plastics, ENT, SICU, Urology, etc.)
  • Two Months Clinical Surgical or Medical Education (Emergency Room, Anesthesia Pre-op, etc.)
  • One additional Month on Medicine or Anesthesia

When available and not in conflict with their assigned rotation, second-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 second-year resident will prepare for and complete the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-service Training Examination conducted by AAOMS annually. 

Third Year

During the third 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 third-year resident will enjoy an advanced dental implant intensive four-month rotation that includes sites such as:

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

The residents will also spend four months of their third year in South 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, and dentoalveolar surgery.

Lastly, the third-year resident will spend 4 months at the main teaching hospital advancing their knowledge on intense facial trauma.

During the third and fourth 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 with exception of South Carolina.

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.

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

Fourth Year

During the fourth 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, temporomandibular joint disorders, advanced dentoalveolar problems, advanced dental implant surgery including full arch cases, and ambulatory outpatient general anesthesia. The resident will be exposed to facial cosmetic surgery, cleft and craniofacial surgery. Similar to the third-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 fourth 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 third and fourth 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.

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 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.