Relevance date: These instructions will apply to the National Dental Specialty Examination (NDSE) conducted beginning in 2010. See the RCDC website for instructions for examinations conducted on earlier or later dates.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Canada

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is that branch and specialty of dentistry which is concerned with and includes the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of disorders, diseases, injuries and defects, involving the functional and aesthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions and related structures.

Examination Structure

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UPDATE: A second written examination (Component I) has been added. It will be held on March 4th, 2010, with an application deadline of January 15th, 2010.

COMPONENT I: Written Examination

The written examination may consist of any combination of essay, short-answer or multiple choice questions. Topics will include the following basic sciences and their clinical application to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery:

Paper I Anatomy and Pathology

Paper II Physiology and Pharmacology

Successful completion of the written component (usually five to six months before the oral) is required to qualify for the oral examination component.

COMPONENT 2: Three Oral Examinations

The oral examination component is composed of three (3) sections of approximately ninety minutes each, during which all phases of major and minor oral and maxillofacial surgical practice will be covered. The three (3) oral examinations cover the following areas:

Oral Examination 1: SURGERY A

90 minutes duration

The candidate must demonstrate the ability to assess, treat, and understand probable outcomes in the following categories:

• Orthognathic and reconstructive surgery
• Temporomandibular disorders
• Fundamentals of Cleft Deformities and Craniofacial Anomalies/Abnormalities
• Fundamentals of Cosmetic Surgery

Oral Examination 2: SURGERY B

90 minutes duration

The candidate must demonstrate the ability to assess, treat, and understand probable outcomes in the following categories:

• Trauma
• Dentoalveolar surgery
• Oral Preprosthetic and Implant Surgery
• Fundamentals of Craniomaxillofacial Preprosthetic Surgery

Oral Examination 3: SURGERY C

90 minutes duration

The candidate must demonstrate the ability to assess, treat, and understand probable outcomes in the following categories:

• Anesthesia and Sedation
• Medically Compromised Patient
• Pathology (including Histopathology)
• Therapeutics
   

Case List Requirements

For indication of training background and current practice, along with the standard examination application and supporting documents, and according to the deadlines set to receive examination applications, the candidate must submit a list of 50 recent (5-year limit) hospital surgical procedures which s/he has performed her/himself, or for which s/he has held responsibility at the senior resident level, and which are verified by the administrative officer of the hospital.

Please use the attached form to record the list.

These surgical procedures are:

Group I: Management of ten (10) cases of fractures involving the maxillofacial complex, including five (5) open procedures. Case selection must demonstrate a variety of mandibular and midface injuries.

Group II: Ten (10) surgical procedures for significant lesions of the maxillofacial complex arising from congenital, developmental, traumatic, inflammatory, neoplastic or metabolic disturbances.

Group III: Ten (10) surgical corrections and/or reconstructions of the maxillofacial complex resulting from congenital, developmental, traumatic, inflammatory, neoplastic degenerative or metabolic disturbances. Case selection should demonstrate experience in management of both soft and hard tissue donor sites.

Group IV: Ten (10) cases of dentoalveolar surgery.

Group V: Ten (10) cases where the candidate has administered the general anesthetic or neuroleptanethesia either as an inpatient or as an outpatient.

• Orthognathic Surgery

• Temporomandibular Disorders

• Cleft Lip and Palate; Cranial Facial Syndromes

• Cosmetic Surgery

• Anesthesia

• Medicine

• Pathology

• Dentoalveolar

• Preprosthetic

• Trauma

• Reconstruction

Download Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Case List Report

• PDF (PDF)
• Microsoft Word (.doc)
  Please note that the link above will open Word on your computer when clicked. To just download the file right click your mouse on the link and select Save Target As and save the file to your hard drive.