The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was founded on the core missions of a) applying the most current resources, knowledge, and techniques in the management of diseases, defects and deformities of the oral and maxillofacial region, b) providing a rich environment for educating and training future oral and maxillofacial surgeons and c) a commitment to clinical research and lifelong learning in oral and maxillofacial surgery. For over 50 years the Department has remained steadfastly loyal to the founding mission by providing comprehensive clinical services to a broad spectrum of both adult and pediatric patients with routine and complex clinical challenges. Through the routine use of such tool as virtual surgical planning the Department has brought to bear the latest in technological advances in surgery.
The residency program, one of the first to offer dual degree training continues to recruit the Nation’s most qualified applicants to complete either four or six years of residency education and training. The Vanderbilt Oral and Maxillofacial surgery residents are provided a comprehensive education and training experience in a diverse and collegial atmosphere.
Finally, the Department is making sound contributions to the management of challenging clinical problems through clinical research and contributions to the literature.
The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery includes the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and the Division of Dentistry. The mission of the Division of Dentistry is to provide comprehensive routine dental and oral health services to the Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee communities. The Division of Dentistry also provides vitally important, medically necessary dental care for patients undergoing cancer therapy, heart valve replacement, organ transplantation and many other medical interventions. The Division of Dentistry is committed to providing compassionate and personalized routine as well as specialized dental care to a broad spectrum of clinical patient challenges.
Samuel J. McKenna, DDS, MD
Chair, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
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