The New Zealand oral and maxillofacial surgeon workforce in 2017-18: characteristics, practice and prospects.

AIM: To describe and consider the findings of a workforce survey of New Zealand Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (OMS) which was conducted in 2017-18, and to compare those to findings from a similar survey undertaken in 2001. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to obtain information on the qualifications, sociodemographic characteristics and and practising circumstances of all practising OMS in New Zealand. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 24). After the computation of descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations were used to identify differences in proportions (with those tested for statistical significance using Chi-squared tests), and analysis of variance was used to examine differences in means. RESULTS: All 39 OMS took part. There were 17 medically qualified surgeons who also held a surgical fellowship, comprising just under half of the workforce. Overall, one in eight surgeons worked solely in the public sector, while just under one-quarter worked solely in private; the remainder worked in both sectors. Dentoalveolar procedures were by far the most common undertaken (with considerably more done by older surgeons than younger ones), followed by implants, the treatment of facial trauma, skin lesions and surgery for malignancy. Orthognathic surgery and dentoalveolar trauma procedures were the least commonly reported. Only two-thirds of surgeons participated in public on-call work. While 95% of surgeons were indeed satisfied with their work, the lowest rate was observed among those working solely in the public sector, where it was 80%; among those working exclusively in private, it was 100%. Between 2001 and 2017-18, the proportion of medically qualified surgeons rose from just over one-quarter to more than two-thirds. The proportion of surgeons working solely in private practice rose from one in seven to almost one-quarter. There were marked increases in the mean number of malignancies dealt with and implants provided. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight a number of problems-some long-standing, others emerging-in New Zealand's OMS system. Fewer surgeons are participating in public sector provision and there is stress on those who remain. Workforce planners should be aware that more resources need to be put into training surgeons who will take up hospital appointments and provide essential after-hours emergency services.

Trends in the dental surgeon workforce in Brazil 2007-2014: a time series study using data from the National Registry of Health Services. / Tendências da força de trabalho de cirurgiões-dentistas no Brasil, no período de 2007 a 2014: estudo de séries temporais com dados do Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde.

OBJECTIVE: the objective was to analyze trends in the dental surgeon workforce in Brazil between 2007 and 2014. METHODS: this is a time series study using data from the Brazilian National Register of Health Establishments and the Brazilian National Institute of Geography and Statistics. Prais-Winsten generalized linear regression was used to estimate time trends and to calculate the annual percent change in the dental surgeon workforce over the period. RESULTS: the number of dental surgeons working as general practitioners and as specialists grew on average by 12.7% and 17.3% per annum, respectively; dental surgeon workforce expansion in relation to general practitioners (0.5%) and specialists (11.6%) was lower in the public sector, compared to the private sector (24.5% and 30.3%, respectively). CONCLUSION: the number of dental surgeons in Brazil is high, although they are not equally distributed between both sectors. This may imply barriers to dental care access in Brazil.

Oral Cancer Care and Oromaxillofacial Surgery.

Oral cancers are one of the most common cancers affecting people of Nepal and it the sixth most common cancer in the world. Unlike other cancers the early detection of the disease is possible through a routine examination of the oral cavity which is usually done by a dental practitioner. Through a series of phases like prevention, screening, early intervention, diagnosis and staging, management with tumor ablative surgeries, and rehabilitation to restore the function and esthetic part for better clinical outcome, the role of the specialty of dentistry is immensified. From a patient perspective, having a direct referral line within the dental community between dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons will contribute to cost reduction and improvement in outcomes. Trained oral and maxillofacial surgeon especially in the head and neck oncology plays a vital role in exploring functional multidisciplinary efforts to enhance patient care, academic excellence and research initiatives and evaluate for gaps in patient care. This article highlights the role of such professionals in a multidisciplinary team approach for the proper management of head and neck cancers which have significantly and logically additive effect for a better outcome.