Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1022.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $347,171
- Projected change
- +8.1%
- Typical education
- Doctoral degree or more
- Employment
- 6.28K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
92% of the workforce
Growing to 6.78K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What oral and maxillofacial surgeons do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Administer general and local anesthetics.
- Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment.
- Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future.
- Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth.
- Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues.
- Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
- 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.
- Perform surgery on the mouth and jaws to treat conditions such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and jaw growth problems.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $87,609
- 25th percentile
- $199,191
- 50th percentile
- $347,171
- 75th percentile
- $473,582
- 90th percentile
- $677,294
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $347,171 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+8.1%faster than average
20256,277 jobs
2035 projected6,784 jobs
507 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Doctoral degree or more
- 92%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Oral Surgeons2,506 postings
- 02Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons1,372 postings
- 03Endodontists448 postings
- 04General Dentists152 postings
- 05Dentist Oral Surgeons105 postings
- 06Oral Surgeon Assistants89 postings
- 07General Surgeons82 postings
- 08Oral Surgery Assistants39 postings
- 09Gynecology Physicians30 postings
- 10Dental Surgeons27 postings
- 11Surgeons23 postings
- 12Locum Tenens General Surgeons16 postings
- 13New Accounts Associates16 postings
- 14Surgery Physicians16 postings
- 15Technical Stream Opportunity Managers16 postings
- 16Gynecologists15 postings
- 17Urogynecologists13 postings
- 18Colorectal Surgeons11 postings
- 19Mohs Surgeons10 postings
- 20Dermatologists/Mohs Surgeons9 postings
Top employers
- 01DOCS Health514 postings
- 02GPAC293 postings
- 03Aspen Dental177 postings
- 04Arthur | Marshall147 postings
- 05AMN Healthcare119 postings
- 06Jackson Physician Search92 postings
- 07Specialty1 Partners89 postings
- 08Oral Surgery Partners77 postings
- 09The Smilist74 postings
- 10Columbia Healthcare72 postings
- 11Dental Care Alliance71 postings
- 12The Hiring Professionals52 postings
- 13Gentle Dental47 postings
- 14Sage Dental47 postings
- 15Sonrava Health47 postings
- 16Pds Health44 postings
- 17United States Department of Veterans Affairs42 postings
- 18The Medicus Firm35 postings
- 19Clearchoice LTD32 postings
- 20Professional Transition Strategies29 postings
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