Awareness among medical and dental professionals about oral and maxillofacial surgery – An original study

The aim of the study is to determine the understanding and awareness about oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) among dental and medical practitioners, paramedical students and nurses. A set of 15 questions was made with the help of Google forms and circulated through social media. This study was performed in Garhwa district of Jharkhand among dental undergraduates and postgraduate students, medical practitioners, paramedical students and nurses. The result showed that out of 170 participants, 69.8% were undergraduates, postgraduate dental students, and practicing dentists; 8.3% were medical practitioners, 8.3% were paramedical students, and 13.5% were nurses. About 92.7% have heard about OMFS. Rest of the results will be discussed in later part of the article. It is very disheartening that despite of prominent role of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in medical field, most of the public is not aware of this. Even medical practitioners are not aware of its role and scope in treatment of various kinds of diseases in head and neck region and as a result they cannot refer patients to the concerned department. Hence, most of the patients in our society are deprived of appropriate treatment. We should adopt different techniques to make people aware about this specialty.