Choice of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as a Specialization and Career Path: An Undergraduate Perspective.

Introduction: Undergraduates pursuing dentistry choose from nine specialties to further theireducation and career path. Oral Surgery is the specialty which forms a bridge between medicine and dentistry. Do they get adequate insight into this subject to make an informed decision on pursuing this field? What inspires them to choose this path? Aim: To analyze the attitude and reason among students pursuing Bachelor's degree in dentistry and general dental practitioners towards choosing Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) as a post-graduation specialization. Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire was circulated among final year dental students, interns and general dental practitioners from all over India. It consisted of 3 sections which emphasized on their interest towards pursuing post-graduation, their attitude towards OMFS as a specialty and a career option. Results: A total of 1145 responses were obtained through the survey, it was observed that majority (86%) of participants were interested to pursue MDS. 66% selected OMFS as their first choice in pursuing post-graduation. It was also noted that out of 87% of total female participants in the study 62.9% of them were interested in OMFS. Discussion: Previous studies have shown that students voluntarily chose OMFS as a specialization. In our study the major reasons to pursue OMFS by participants was deep interest towards this subject, financial benefit and to gain knowledge and clinical experience. Conclusion: OMFS had a positive impact and an exposure at an under-graduate level inspired participants to pursue this subject as a specialization and considering it as a career option.