Perception of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in a University Community

Abstract

Background: Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a specialty that is expanding its frontiers of surgical anatomic definition. There has been no study in Nigeria to ascertain the level of knowledge of the specialty by the public.


Materials and Methods: The population of the University of Benin Community is about 47,000 inhabitants. Students form the bulk of the population. A questionnaire was designed to assess the knowledge of the community of the specialties of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), and plastic Surgery. They were asked some questions on their choice of surgeon to treat them if they or a member of their families had an identified surgical problem. They were asked whether the title of OMFS was suitable and its relevance in a developing country.


Results: Two hundred copies of the questionnaire were collected which represented 80% of the sample. There were 48% males and 52% females with an age range of 16 to 45 years. Less than half (43.5%) of the respondents have heard of OMFS, 55% and 87.5% have heard of the ENT and Plastic Surgeon respectively. Eighty nine percent of respondents think the specialty is relevant in a developing country and 40.5% thought the name should not be changed.


Conclusion: The results show a general lack of awareness of OMFS.

(Nig J Surg Res 2001; 3: 139 – 146)



KEY WORDS:

Perception, Oral, Maxillofacial Surgery