Provision of oral medicine in departments of oral and maxillofacial surgery in the UK: national postal questionnaire survey 2009

Surgical tracheostomy is a commonly provided service by surgical teams for patients in intensive care where percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy is contraindicated. A number of factors may interfere with its provision on shared emergency operating lists, potentially prolonging the stay in intensive care. We undertook a two-part project to examine the factors that might delay provision of surgical tracheostomy in the intensive care unit. The first part was a prospective audit of practice within the University Hospital Coventry. This was followed by a telephone survey of oral and maxillofacial surgery units throughout the UK. In the intensive care unit at University Hospital Coventry, of 39 referrals, 21 (53.8%) were delayed beyond 24 hours. There was a mean (standard deviation) time to delay of 2.2 days (0.9 days) and the most common cause of delay was surgeon decision, accounting for 13 (61.9%) delays. From a telephone survey of 140 units nationwide, 40 (28.4%) were regularly involved in the provision of surgical tracheostomies for intensive care and 17 (42.5%) experienced delays beyond 24 hours, owing to a combination of theatre availability (76.5%) and surgeon availability (47.1%). There is case for having a dedicated tracheostomy team and provisional theatre slot to optimise patient outcomes and reduce delays. We aim to implement such a move within our unit and audit the outcomes prospectively following this change.

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Restorative dentistry – what's it all about?

Bulletin of The Royal College of Surgeons of England ◽

10.1308/147363507x239217 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 89 (9) ◽

pp. 327-327

Author(s):

Paul King

Keyword(s):

Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Oral And Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Restorative Dentistry ◽

The Third ◽

Complex Problems ◽

The Uk ◽

Provision Of Care

The specialty of restorative dentistry encompasses the monospecialties of endodontics, periodontics and prosthodontics, and involves the provision of care and advice for patients with complex problems associated with restoring satisfactory oral and dental function and aesthetics. Restorative dentistry has been recognised within the UK for nearly 25 years, becoming the third dental specialty along with the pre-existing specialties of oral and maxillofacial surgery and orthodontics in 1973.

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Referral patterns of emergency physicians regarding head and neck pathology in Western Australia

Faculty Dental Journal ◽

10.1308/rcsfdj.2018.147 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 147-150

Author(s):

Jo Ann Ong ◽

Dieter Gebauer ◽

Estie Kruger ◽

Marc Tennant

Keyword(s):

Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Temporomandibular Joint Disorders ◽

Scope Of Practice ◽

Oral And Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Facial Fractures ◽

Emergency Physicians ◽

The Us ◽

Head And Neck Pathology ◽

Salivary Gland Disease ◽

The Uk

Those dual qualified in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) in Australia have a scope of practice that includes dentoalveolar surgery, facial fractures, craniofacial deformities, salivary gland disease, temporomandibular joint disorders, and the treatment of oral and facial cancers with reconstruction. This differs from other countries such as the UK, the US, France and Brazil, which can lead to complexities of interaction when internationally trained health professionals, who may be unaware of this wide breadth of practice, are the ‘gatekeepers’ at tertiary health facilities. 1 – 3

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