Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Median salary

$352,220

Average salary

$346,490

Employment

4,910

Projected growth

4.1% growth

Annual openings

200

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Do

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.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Internship/residency
Self-employed: 11.9%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
Education: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Medicine and Dentistryimportance 5.0/5
Biologyimportance 4.4/5
English Languageimportance 4.4/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.3/5
Psychologyimportance 3.8/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.5/5
Chemistryimportance 3.4/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.4/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Exposed to Disease or Infections5.0/5
Physical Proximity5.0/5
Telephone Conversations4.9/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.9/5
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.9/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Medical Dosimetrists94% skill match
Prosthodontists94% skill match
Athletic Trainers93% skill match
Traffic Technicians93% skill match
Photographers93% skill match
Detectives and Criminal Investigators92% skill match
Nurse Practitioners92% skill match
Orthotists and Prosthetists92% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Complex Problem Solvingimportance 4.1/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 4.1/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
Coordinationimportance 3.6/5
Time Managementimportance 3.4/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.3/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.3/5
Operations Analysisimportance 3.1/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Other Software Used

Ada
Apteryx Imaging Suite
DSN Software Oral Surgery-Exec
DecisionBase TiME for OMS
DentalEye
Dolphin Imaging & Management Solutions Dolphin Management
Gendex Dental Systems VixWin PRO
Kodak Dental Systems Kodak Cosmetic Imaging Module

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control
Intellectual Curiosity
Achievement Orientation

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

InvestigativeHigh
RealisticHigh
SocialMedium
ConventionalMedium
EnterprisingLow
ArtisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where oral and maxillofacial surgeons make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).