Assessment of Knowledge Levels Regarding Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Among Health Care Professionals in Colombia

This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and perceptions of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) among health care professionals in Colombia, identifying gaps and opportunities to improve interdisciplinary collaboration and referral practices. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 642 health care professionals, including medical (29%) and dental (71%) participants. The survey assessed awareness of OMFS, understanding of its scope, and perceptions of the pathologies managed by the specialty. Most participants (99.1%) reported awareness of OMFS, but only 86.4% correctly identified dentistry as the required undergraduate degree for OMFS training. Misconceptions included 12.8% believing both medical and dental degrees were required, and 0.8% choosing only medicine, with 96.6% identifying OMFS as the primary specialty for managing mandibular fractures and 93.3% for zygomatic fractures. For nasal fractures, however, 55% attributed management to otorhinolaryngology, whereas only 53.4% recognized OMFS expertise. Significant gaps were noted in facial aesthetics, where plastic surgery was preferred for procedures like facial wrinkles (65.7%) and volume restoration (58.6%). These findings underscore the need for targeted educational initiatives and better integration of OMFS into medical training to improve interdisciplinary collaboration and referral accuracy.