Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are the surgical specialists of the dental profession and are the only dental specialists recognized by the American Dental Association who are surgically trained in a hospital-based residency program for a minimum of four years. OMSs train alongside medical residents in internal medicine, general surgery and anesthesiology, and spend time in otolaryngology, plastic surgery, emergency medicine and other specialty areas. Their training focuses almost exclusively on the hard (ie, bone) and soft (ie, skin, muscle) tissue of the face, mouth, and jaws. Their knowledge and surgical expertise uniquely qualifies them to diagnose and treat the functional and esthetic conditions in this anatomical area.