Dr. Melissa Amundson, DDS, MPH, FACS

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Get to know Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. Melissa Amundson, who serves patients in Florida.

Dr. Amundson is the only trauma fellowship-trained oral and maxillofacial surgeon in the state of Florida. She can be reached at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Trauma Clinic. 

When asked why she chose Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, Dr. Amundson answered: “The operating rooms are the nicest I have seen in the state of Florida, there are growth opportunities in the trauma program and the relationship with Florida State University is robust. Additionally, TMH plays a vital role in rural health care, increasing access to care in populations that are often overlooked in the United States.”

Trained to recognize and treat a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face and jaws, Dr. Amundson specializes in maxillofacial trauma with an emphasis on complex maxillofacial reconstructive surgery, orthognathic surgery (corrective jaw surgery), and benign tumor treatment and reconstruction.

“I try to engage patients in the decision-making process and offer treatment options that I would offer a family member. As a surgeon, the temptation is always to operate, but many times less is more and identifying the right time to not operate can be challenging, but it is often the right thing to do” she stated.

Academically, Dr. Amundson received her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2007. She started her career in OMFS with an internship at the University of Pennsylvania followed by her residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2012. 

In 2015, Dr. Amundson returned to an academic setting and completed her fellowship training in advanced craniomaxillofacial surgery and trauma in Portland, Oregon at the Head and Neck Institute/Legacy Emanuel MEdical Center. She remained with Head and Neck Surgical Associates from 2016-2019, managing complex trauma for Southern Washington, Central and Western Oregon, and Northern California. During this time, she was also the program site director for resident education and was the CMF/Trauma fellowship director from 2018-2019.

A year later, in 2020, she completed her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Florida.

A Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS), Dr. Amundson is among only a handful of single-degree OMFS in the country.

Inducted in several prestigious surgical societies, she is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Among her other professional affiliations include the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, the American Dental Association, the Western Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Southeastern Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Florida Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Florida Dental Association, the Oregon Dental Association, the Oregon Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Academy for Sports Dentistry, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the Academy of Osseointegration, and The G4 Alliance.

Teaching students, Dr. Amundson has been serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Florida State University College of Medicine since 2020.

Her current hospital affiliations include Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Hospital Escuela Tegucigalpa, and Noma Children’s Hospital Sokoto.

Prior to her current endeavors, she served as a consultant of MSF facial trauma in Ukraine, a Clinical Assistant Professor within the Department of Surgery at Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, and as a Professor within the Department of Clinical Sciences at Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery specializes in surgery of the face, mouth, and jaws. It is an internationally recognized surgical specialty. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are dental specialists who treat conditions, defects, injuries, and esthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws, and face. Their training involves a four-year graduate degree in dentistry and the completion of a minimum four-year hospital surgical residency program.

Committed to international humanitarian surgery, Dr. Amundson has been teaching at hospital escuela in Tegucigalpa, Honduras since 2015 and is a consulting surgeon with Médecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) at Noma Children’s Hospital Sokoto in Nigeria. She is also actively involved in resident education in the United States, Honduras, and Nigeria.

Dr. Amundson is an editor/reviewer for several publications including: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases, and Plos One. She has also authored/co-authored several articles and chapters on craniomaxillofacial trauma.

Among her various accolades include the UIC Rising Star Award, 2022; the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital ICARE Award, 2022; the UIC Rising Star Leadership Award, 2021; OMS Foundation GIVE Travel Stipend, 2018; Commitment of Excellence, Government of Honduras, First Lady Ana Garcia de Hernandez, 2014; Excellence in Surgical Skills, Dr. Robert Marx DDS, 2012; and Larry D. Seldin Award, Excellence in Pre-Doctoral Oral Surgery, Dr. Gene Sbalchierro DDS, 2007.

In her spare time, Dr. Amundson enjoys yoga, traveling, and doing volunteer mission work.

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