A look at current oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) training requirements in comparison to 1994

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to give a clear view of the oral and maxillofacial surgery training requirements worldwide.MethodsA survey was sent to the universities or associations that run or overlook running OMS programmes by e-mail or information was gathered directly through their website to collect information about each country's programme, whether it is dental-based training, medical-based, or dual degree-based, and scope of service.ResultWe recognized five types of OMS programmes worldwide: single dental degree, single medical degree, dual degrees, combination of medical/dental studies but not degree-based (stomatology), and the hybrid forms.ConclusionOMS remains a dental speciality in the majority of countries in the world, despite earlier claims that dual qualification is superseding single degree training fast, with some countries having also a medical OMS speciality with same scope of practice.