[The Internet in oral medicine and maxillofacial surgery]

The authors give an Internet short historical record, then describe the different services offered and the possible applications for oral and maxillo-facial surgery. Electronic-mail (E-mail) provides the ability to compose, send and receive messages through the computer and allows exchanging informations with colleagues around the world. Programs, files and graphics can be transferred from one computer to another. The "news groups" are interesting in various subjects and allow a team work. We find several hundred sites about maxillo-facial surgery. These sites present a medical department, diagnosis problems or therapeutic solutions, medical press. Any information submitted is insecure and could be observed by a third party while in transit. Internet potential (educational benefits, digital access to medical literature, online consultation service) is mentioned in the end of the article.