An oral and maxillofacial surgeon (OMS) is a dental specialist who completes years of additional hospital-based surgical training after dental school in order to operate in and around the mouth, jaws, and face. That residency includes formal training in anesthesia, which is why an oral surgeon can plan your surgery, perform it, and manage your sedation as part of one continuous course of care. “Board-certified” means that training has been independently verified and tested by the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, the national certifying board for the specialty.
What an oral & maxillofacial surgeon actually is
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is the surgical specialty of dentistry, formally recognized alongside orthodontics, periodontics, and others. After earning a dental degree, an oral surgeon completes a multi-year surgical residency in a hospital, managing anesthesia, surgery, and patients with real medical complexity. That training is why oral surgeons take on impacted teeth, implants in difficult bone, jaw surgery, facial trauma, and pathology. It is a different scope of training built for a different kind of work.
What the additional training covers
A general dentist and an oral surgeon both begin with dental school. From there, an oral surgeon completes several more years of hospital-based residency in which surgery and anesthesia are both required parts of the program. Those years build the judgment to plan a difficult case, the experience to carry it out, and the training to keep you safe and comfortable while it happens. When your care calls for surgery, that depth of preparation is what you are choosing.
Why board certification matters
Board certification is the part you can check. The American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is the national board that certifies the specialty, and it verifies a surgeon’s training and holds them to a tested standard. Dr. Janette is a Diplomate of that board. He is also a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and a member of its California association. These are standards you can confirm independently.
Why it matters
Matching the right training to the right procedure is what produces a predictable result: surgery planned around your anatomy, sedation managed by the same surgeon performing the procedure, and complications anticipated rather than reacted to. Your dentist knows your mouth and your history, and when a case calls for surgery, a board-certified oral surgeon adds the specialized training that supports the best long-term outcome. The two work together on your behalf.
Common questions
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon is a dental specialist with years of hospital-based surgical and anesthesia training beyond dental school. Dr. Janette is board-certified by the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
Many dentists perform simple extractions as part of their practice. Impacted teeth, surgical cases, bone grafting, and cases needing IV anesthesia call for an oral surgeon’s specialized training, which is why dentists refer those cases to a specialist.
A national board has verified the surgeon’s training and tested them against a published standard. It is a credential you can independently confirm, not a self-description. Dr. Janette is certified by the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
Anesthesia is part of the foundation of the specialty, and Dr. Janette has been administering it since completing his residency in 1996, maintaining the California permit that has to be renewed every six years. He administers and monitors your IV anesthesia in our office, with the surgical team monitoring you throughout, so the person managing your anesthesia is the same person performing your surgery.