Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Health Science · Therapeutic Services
Pay and outlook shown for
New workers start near $164,770; experienced workers reach $405,560
Job outlook
U.S. projection, 2024 to 2034.
- Employment change
- +4%
- Openings a year
- 200
- Employed in 2024
- 6,100
Typical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree · Training: Internship/residency
Alamo Colleges programs that lead here
No program is mapped to this career yet. Many careers start from a transfer pre-major or a related program.
Browse all programsSkills this career uses
The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.
- Complex Problem Solving4.4
- Judgment and Decision Making4.1
- Reading Comprehension5.3
- Critical Thinking4.8
- Active Learning4.5
- Speaking4.1
- Active Listening4.0
- Monitoring3.9
What the work 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.
- 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.
Education people in this job have
Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.
- Doctoral or professional100%
Job zone 5, extensive preparation: A graduate or professional degree, usually after a bachelor's.
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