Healthcare Practitioners
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Also called: DDS (Dental Surgery Doctor), Maxillofacial Surgeon, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Resident, Oral Surgeon
US median pay
$352,220
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+5.6%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
200
5,600 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
- 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.
- Provide emergency treatment of facial injuries including facial lacerations, intra-oral lacerations, and fractured facial bones.
- Treat problems affecting the oral mucosa, such as mouth ulcers and infections.
- Restore form and function by moving skin, bone, nerves, and other tissues from other parts of the body to reconstruct the jaws and face.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Complex Problem Solving4.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.8/5
- Coordination3.4/5
- Time Management3.2/5
- Systems Analysis3.2/5
- Service Orientation3.1/5
- Systems Evaluation3.0/5
Knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry5.0/5
- Biology4.5/5
- Education and Training4.3/5
- English Language4.2/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2/5
- Administration and Management3.9/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-doctoral training72%
- Doctoral degree20%
Who this job suits
Mostly Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.