Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Length of Program: 6 years

Number of Positions: 2 for graduates of CODA-accredited dental schools

Financial Arrangement: UC Salary Breakdown (4 of 6 years);
Students are required to pay tuition for the 2 years at the School of Medicine

Program Director: Dr. Payam Afzali

The Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, in conjunction with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, offers a six-year training program leading to the MD degree and a certificate of specialization in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The program includes approximately three years as a resident on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service, two years as a full-time student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and one year as a resident on the General Surgery Service at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. This comprehensive program is hospital-based, with a well-proportioned balance of inpatient and outpatient care. For the oral and maxillofacial surgery resident interested in research, UCLA offers options for research fellowships, MS programs, and PhD programs.

The goal of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program at UCLA is to prepare a clinically superior surgeon who possesses the additional knowledge and ability to pursue a career in any aspect of oral surgery, be it clinical, teaching, or research-oriented. This program offers comprehensive clinical training, covering the full scope of this specialty. Residents can experience rotations in oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral pathology, orthodontics, orthognathic surgery, TMJ pathology, implantology, facial trauma, and facial pain. A considerable component of training is devoted to the presentation of clinically-oriented basic scientific material.

Alongside a superb clinical curriculum, the program also offers strong didactic teaching. The scientific background of oral and maxillofacial surgical practice is emphasized in seminars, lectures, and conferences throughout the training program. Lecture courses are offered in the areas of internal medicine, physical diagnosis, oral pathology, head and neck radiation therapy, dental implantology, and head and neck anatomy (including clinically relevant cadaveric dissection).

Read More

Selection Process & Factors

Selected candidates will be invited to interview. If you have been selected, you will be notified by telephone and/or email.

Timing of Interviews: 

To be announced—updates will be posted on PASS in the announcements section

The admissions committee considers the following criteria in its decisions:

  • Academic achievement (GPA and class rank if available)
  • Superior Performance on CBSE (Comprehensive Basic Science Examination)
  • Post-dental school accomplishments
  • Extracurricular achievements
  • Excellent clinical ability
  • Strong work ethic
  • Content of personal statement
  • Content of recommendation letters; one letter must be from the Dean of the applicant's dental school

Applicants will be notified of acceptance through the Match service. To find out when results will be available, please consult the Match service (Usually at the end of January). A letter of acceptance signed by the Program Director and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will be issued upon acceptance.

APPLY NOW

Accreditation Statement

The program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and has been granted the accreditation status of "Approval without Reporting Requirements”. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653, by visiting www.ada.org/coda, or by mail at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-2678.