Proposal of Recommendations for Education and Training in Maxillofacial Ultrasound Practice in Chile

Diagnostic ultrasonography of the maxillofacial region is practiced by dental surgeons specializing in imaging. Additionally, non-radiologist specialists such as maxillofacial surgeons, facial estheticians, and orofacial pain specialists, among others, have promoted the use of this tool in modalities such as "Point-of-Care" ultrasonography or ultrasound-guided interventional procedures. However, maxillofacial ultrasonography has not been included in international documents recommending ultrasound education, which are essential to ensure the quality and standardization of training for practitioners. The objective of the study is to propose recommendations on training requirements to develop the minimum skills necessary for practicing maxillofacial ultrasonography at different levels in Chile. A systematic review of the literature was conducted in the PubMed, Scielo, and Epistemonikos databases, following inclusion criteria to identify articles providing recommendations on maxillofacial ultrasonography training. The selected documents were analyzed by a working group to draft a proposal of recommendations. This proposal was reviewed by two dental surgeons with a Master’s in Education. To finalize the text, the working group discussed and incorporated modifications. A total of 407 articles were identified, with 393 discarded based on their abstracts. Fourteen articles were selected for full-text review, and one additional article was added through cross-references. Finally, two articles were selected for analysis based on the inclusion criteria. From the analysis, the following recommendations were developed and discussed: Level 1: Includes skills to independently perform a basic maxillofacial ultrasound examination, focusing on "Point-of-Care." Level 2: Includes specific ultrasound diagnosis and ultrasound guidance. Level 3: Involves high-quality practice, exclusive dedication, and the use of advanced ultrasound technologies. Maxillofacial ultrasonography is a competency area for dental surgeons. This proposal provides guidelines for its training, adopting an education framework based on skill acquisition rather than a minimum number of actions. This allows its transversal application across different specialties according to the described levels. KEY WORDS: maxillofacial ultrasonography, ultrasound, sonography, education, point-of-care.