Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Perform surgery and related procedures on the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions to treat diseases, injuries, or defects. May diagnose problems of the oral and maxillofacial regions. May perform surgery to improve function or appearance.
- Median pay
- $352,220
- Doing it now
- 5,600
- By 2035
- Up 5.6%
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
a year
across the country
200 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Administer general and local anesthetics.
- Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth.
- Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future.
- Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment.
- Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues.
- Remove tumors and other abnormal growths of the oral and facial regions, using surgical instruments.
- Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral SciencesSee 2 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Analytical and curious
Hands-on and practical
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $352,220 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.