Oral medicine in regional oral and maxillofacial surgery units: a five-year review

Abstract

Introduction This study looks at the amount of oral medicine activity in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) units in both South East Wales and South West England, and to consider the development of training programmes in oral medicine and OMFS, to determine how to best deliver a service which would benefit patients with oral medicine diagnoses.Materials and methods Following institutional approvals, local OMFS units in South East Wales and South West England collected data from OMFS outpatient clinics to determine what proportion of patient diagnoses fell within the scope of practice of oral medicine.Results In South East Wales in 2017, patients with oral medicine diagnoses formed 45% of total outpatient activity in OMFS outpatient clinics compared to 37% of patients in the South West of England in 2021. Patients with oral medicine diagnoses were predominantly female and in the older age groups.Discussion and conclusions Changing age demographics suggest that the demand for specialist oral medicine services will continue to rise. Outside of the university dental hospital setting, where all UK oral medicine units are currently located, there is a growing need for specialists in oral medicine to work alongside colleagues in OMFS in district general hospitals to provide specialist oral medicine care to an increasingly large and complex patient group, ideally as part of a managed clinical network.