Sir, the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) are one of many organisations that have been invited to respond to the consultative phase of the General Dental Council's review of its specialist lists. In order to inform their response the information sub-committee of BAOMS felt it would be helpful to obtain some data regarding current oral and maxillofacial services. We thought a summary of the results might be of interest to your readership.

Three-quarters of practising oral and maxillofacial surgeons (235 of an estimated 313 in England, Scotland and Wales) replied to a questionnaire distributed by letter, email and telephone. Thirteen vacant consultant posts were identified in the units served by this group. Whilst 33 treatment waiting lists exceeded the relevant government targets, 31 of these (98%) were confined to dento-alveolar surgery. Programme trainers reported that 11 (9%) of 121 specialist registrar posts were unfilled.

In a separate questionnaire information regarding the scope of practice of 197 Staff Grades and Associate Specialists in the specialty was sought. A total of 97 (49%) exclusively carried out dento-alveolar surgery with another 70 (36%) also being involved in the occasional management of some simple hard tissue trauma. Only 13 (7%) were involved in more complex surgical procedures.

We hope that this information will prove useful in the continuing review process. Any revision or reconfiguration of the specialist lists will presumably take into account the current delivery of the service and the best way to answer the actual needs of patients. Further information about BAOMS can be obtained through the website www.baoms.org.uk or by emailing office@baoms.org.uk.