Meet ORAL SURGEON, Leonel Perez, DDS, MD, FACS

Best Oral Surgeon in Gaithersburg & Silver Spring

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
Diplomate, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeryDr. Perez

Dr. Perez is a native of Texas and received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas of San Antonio (UTSA). Following this, he pursued a degree in Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA) in 2008 and continued his training at UTHSCSA and earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 2011. During this time, he completed his one-year General Surgery internship and subsequently completed his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training in 2014 under the notable names of Dr. Edward Ellis III and Dr. Daniel Perez.

Dr. Perez is a 20 year veteran and retired Commander for the US Navy. He was the Program Director at the “President’s Hospital” – Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, MD where he trained elite Maxillofacial Surgeons in the largest tri-service residency program in the DoD. During his time with the military, Dr. Perez held several leadership and committee positions including the Craniofacial Committee for Craniofacial and Cleft Lip/Palate anomalies and was a distinguished Clinical Associate Professor for the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at Uniformed Services University (USU).

Dr. Perez is also a Diplomate and Committee Examiner for the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (ABOMS) where he plays a vital role in ensuring professional competency and directly supports the training and assessment of future Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons around the nation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and has several faculty appointments that include both national and local positions including the AO Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) North American Branch and the Strasbourg Osteosynthesis Research Group (SORG).

Dr. Perez’s other notable accomplishments include being awarded Associate Master Clinician for WRNMMC for his proven excellent outcomes, superior patient satisfaction, high clinical volume, and contributions to training, education and research. Additionally, he was the recent recipient of the Faculty Educator Development Award (FEDA) from AAOMS in 2018 encouraging promising young oral and maxillofacial surgeons to choose a long term faculty career in the specialty.

Dr. Perez’s special interests include orthognathic surgery, TMJ surgery / reconstruction surgery for idiopathic condylar resorption, rheumatoid or juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and reconstruction for facial trauma, as well as dentoalveolar surgery, dental implants, bone grafting surgeries, and cleft lip / palate surgeries.

His professional affiliations include:

  • Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS)
  • American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)
  • American Dental Society of Anesthesiology (ADSA)
  • Maryland, Virginia, Southwest, and Middle Atlantic Societies of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
  • Texas Medical Association (TMA)
  • AO Craniomaxillofacial (AOCMF) Faculty & Member
  • American Dental Association (ADA)
  • American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
  • Maryland Gamma Chapter, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society

Publications:

1. Yim CR, Uhrich RM, Perez L Jr. Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Heterotopic Ossification: A Novel Protocol With Multimodal Therapy Based on Literature Review and Presentation of a Unique Case Report. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2021 Dec 23:S0278-2391(21)01516-0. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2021.12.012. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35032438.

2. D. Xiao, C. Lian, L. Wang, H. Deng, H. Lin, K. Thung, J. Zhu, P. Yuan, L. Perez, Jaime Gateno, S. Shen, P. Yap, J. Xia, D. Shen., “Estimating Reference Shape Model for Personalized Surgical Reconstruction of Craniomaxillofacial Defects,” in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 362-373, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.1109/TBME.2020.2990586.

3. Bensing JR, McElroy KE, Perez L Jr. Retrieval of Displaced Third Molar Into the Sublingual Space Using 3-Dimensional Navigation Assistance. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2021;79(3):537.e1-537.e7.

4. Xiao, D., Wang, L., Deng, H., Thung, K. H., Zhu, J., Yuan, P., Rodrigues, Y. L., Perez, L., Jr, Crecelius, C. E., Gateno, J., Kuang, T., Shen, S., Kim, D., Alfi, D. M., Yap, P. T., Xia, J. J., & Shen, D. (2019). Estimating Reference Bony Shape Model for Personalized Surgical Reconstruction of Posttraumatic Facial Defects. Medical image computing and computer-assisted intervention: MICCAI … International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, 11768, 327–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32254-0_37.

5. Cervenka PD, Perez L Jr, Perez DE, Jones B. Melanoma Metastasis to the Mandible-Case Report and Comprehensive Literature Review. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2017;75(9):2025.e1-2025.e12. doi:10.1016/j.joms.2017.05.029

6. R. Haig, P.J. Tan and L. Perez. Acquired Hemifacial Microsomia: Combined TMJ and Orthognathic Surgery in a Patient with Neurofibromatosis Type 1. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2020-10-01, Volume 78, Issue 10, Pages e79-e80, Copyright © 2020.

7. McQuinn. M and Perez. L. Management of an Unusual Complication Associated with Combined Orthognathic Surgery and Total Temporomandibular Joint Replacement in a Pediatric Patient, OMSNICase (2020).

8. Y.G. Kritzas, R. Uhrich, P. Liacouras and L. Perez. A Novel Surgical Technique for Guided Bone Regeneration: Creation of Custom Bio-Resorbable Polymer using Virtual Surgical Planning and Predictive Bone Augmentation for Dentoalveolar Defects. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2019-09-01, Volume 77, Issue 9, Pages e75-e76, Copyright © 2019.

9. Perez D.E, Perez L. et al. Subjective and Functional Outcomes Following TMJ Reconstruction with Custom-made Total Joint Prostheses. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (2014), Volume 72, Issue 9, e15.

In Progress

10. Perez, L, Perez, D.E Wang, J., and Gonzalez, J. Compartment Syndrome: Discussion, Case Report and Literature Review of an Ominous Intraoperative Complication. UT Health Science Center – San Antonio.

11. Owen, M., Gray, B., Hack, N., Perez, Jr., L and Hawkins, J., Does botulinum toxin injection into masticatory muscles result in mandibular, bony changes? A systematic review. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Postgraduate Dental College