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Questionnaires were sent to directors of the 118 oral and maxillofacial surgery training programs in the United States and its territories to survey current trends and recent experience with maxillo-mandibular fixation (MMF). Eighty-eight percent of the respondents indicated that it was customary to keep wire cutters at the bedsides of hospitalized patients who were in MMF, and 49% discharged patients in MMF with wire cutters. The respondents were aware of 17 inpatients and 5 outpatients in their programs who had required emergency release from MMF during the previous 5 years. Emergent MMF release is a rare event. The availability of wire cutters at the hospital bed or issuance of wire cutters to outpatients in MMF should be based on a case-by-case consideration of the procedure performed, postoperative bleeding, vomiting potential, edema, airway integrity, patient dexterity, and patient compliance.