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Sir, as a group of oral and maxillofacial surgeons it was heartening to hear of the benefit Ms Ahmed gained as a dental undergraduate from her two week placement in an oral and maxillofacial
department. It is to her credit that she has recognised the holistic approach to patients presenting with the conditions she described. We understand her raising the question about female
representation at consultant level in the specialty, but as a group of female consultants we would like to state we are not alone! There is a gender imbalance in all of the surgical
specialties and OMFS is not the worst, and the numbers of females in training is increasing all the time. The female consultants in our specialty not only balance work and family life but
are proportionately over represented in leadership roles such as on the Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC), as examiners for the Intercollegiate Examinations Board, and on the British
Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Council (BAOMS) and are actively promoting able female trainees into the specialty. If Ms Ahmed would like to find out more about a career in
our wonderful specialty she is welcome to track us down and find out more about it. In common with our male colleagues, we have worked hard, and also managed to lead relatively normal, if
busy lives. REFERENCES * Ahmed A . OMFS: Gender imbalance? _Br Dent J_ 2016; 221: 372. Article Google Scholar Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Consultant
OMFS Surgeon, North Wales, E. J. Woolley * Consultant OMFS Surgeon, Oxford, D. K. Dhariwal * Consultant OMFS Surgeon, London, H. Witherow * Consultant OMFS Surgeon, Guildford, C. Newlands *
Consultant OMFS Surgeon, London, K. George Authors * E. J. Woolley View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * D. K. Dhariwal View author
publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * H. Witherow View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * C. Newlands View
author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * K. George View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND
PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Woolley, E., Dhariwal, D., Witherow, H. _et al._ We are not alone. _Br Dent J_ 221, 685 (2016).
https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.888 Download citation * Published: 09 December 2016 * Issue Date: 09 December 2016 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.888 SHARE THIS ARTICLE
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