After the start of the National Health Service, ambitious dental surgeons expanded their role from dental extractions, minor mouth surgery and the treatment of jaw fractures with wires and dental appliances to comprehensive surgery of the mouth, face and jaws often in the face of sustained opposition from the established surgical specialties. The result was the specialty of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery which was recognised by the wider surgical community and the regulator, the General Medical Council, in the 1990s. This story of hard work, enterprise and achievement is told in the words of many of those who drove the changes and inspired others to improve techniques and outcomes for those suffering from injury, cancer, deformity and oral and dental disease.