The practice of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is a specialty of dentistry and medicine requiring up to six years of additional training beyond the 4 years of dental school. The training takes place at most major medical centers throughout the country and includes training for outpatient office and hospital surgeries, inpatient hospital care, and anesthesia training. The scope of practice for an oral & maxillofacial surgeon includes expertise in the surgeries relating to the teeth, soft tissues of the mouth, soft tissues of the face, and facial skeleton. Therefore, common surgeries performed by an oral & maxillofacial surgeon include the procedures that you will read about on our web page.

We, as oral & maxillofacial surgeons, are in a unique position to assist persons suffering from these ailments. We communicate with your dental and/or medical providers to provide you the highest level of care regarding your oral surgical needs.

Dr. Jess A. Gardner, Dr. Sandeep V. Pathak or Dr. Patrick W. Walker are all Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons with expertise in the above treatments. We perform surgeries in our office and at Gwinnett Medical Center. We participate in many insurance plans.

Our Clinical Staff consists of trained assistants capable of helping to perform safe anesthetic services ranging from local anesthesia to general anesthesia within our state of the art office. Our staff is certified in emergency life support and undergo training and continuing Anesthesia Assisting Education on a regular basis to maintain their skills. Our patients are well cared for by our staff and are continuously monitored during and after surgery in our facility until they are ready to be discharged home. We also offer general anesthesia services within our facility as provided by a licensed Anesthesiologist, and PRP services as well.

Our Administrative Staff is well rounded and broadly trained in medical and dental health policies and procedures. Our insurance manager is a Certified Professional Coder. C.P.C., who keeps up-to-date with the latest insurance information and the current changes regarding healthcare policy. All our staff have many years of experience and are here to assist you.

The surgical staff at Oral Facial Surgical Associates are experienced, certified oral and maxillofacial surgical assistants, who assist in the administration of IV sedation and surgery. We also have a trained registered nurse (RN) to assist in surgery. All staff are informed administrative personnel, well-versed in health and insurance policies, and are CPR certified.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery requires up to 6 additional years of hospital-based surgical and anesthesia training. As oral and maxillofacial surgeons,we treat a wide variety of problems relating to the mouth, teeth, and facial regions. Our surgeons practice a full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery with expertise in corrective jaw surgery, wisdom tooth removal, and oral pathology. They can also diagnose and treat facial pain, facial injuries, and perform a full range of dental implant procedures.

Our staff is trained in assisting our surgeons with IV sedation within our office setting. Patients are continuously monitored during and after surgery. In addition, general anesthesia provided by a board-certified anesthesiologist is available within our facility.

Dr. Gardner, Jess as he is known to his patients is a third-generation Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon. As a partner in Oral and Facial Surgery Associates, Dr. Gardner shares his time in all of our three offices.

Dr. Gardner received his dental degree (DMD) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and his Medical Degree (MD) from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He then completed a year of general surgery and his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical center/Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Gardner is a board-certified Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon and expert in a broad scope of the surgical specialty. He is on staff at Gwinnett Medical Systems and he is a member of the GMC Facial Trauma Team. Dr. Gardner is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, Georgia Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, Academy of Osseointegration, and the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology.

Dr. Pathak is a well-rounded oral & maxillofacial surgeon. He has a passion for the pursuit of excellence. He is methodical in his work to achieve quality results. Dr. P, as he is commonly known, takes his work seriously, but also has a sense of humor and is always positive in the care of his patients. He has been able to apply these attributes to the successful and safe care of his patients.

He is a graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1999, where he earned honors, including the Robert ONeil Scholarship in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. He was also inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honor Society. He went on to train at the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Texas, Houston Health Science Center and completed the training in 2005. He also graduated from the University of Texas, Houston Medical School in 2003. He continues to keep his education current with various continuing education courses and seminars throughout the year.

Dr. Pathak is a board-certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon by the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. He is a member of the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is BLS (basic life support) & ACLS (advanced life cardiac life support) certified. He & his office staff are also well trained to perform a variety of office-based anesthesia. He has been in practice with Oral & Facial Surgery Associates since moving to Georgia, with his wife & children, in 2005. He attends at the Gwinnett Medical Center to provide care for his patients and provide service in the specialty of maxillofacial surgery.

His surgical interests are varied & enjoys the breadth of the scope of oral & maxillofacial surgery. He particularly enjoys dental implant surgery, extraction of wisdom teeth, facial reconstruction (including corrective jaw surgery & facial trauma), and oral & maxillofacial pathology, anesthesia & facial aesthetic surgeries. He enjoys learning new techniques and employs new technology when necessary. His interests outside of medicine & dentistry include: spending time with his family & friends, traveling, playing various sports, playing guitar and photography. He especially enjoys time with his wife and 2 daughters!