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.

Most important skills

Critical Thinking
Complex Problem Solving
Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Judgment and Decision Making
Writing
Speaking
Monitoring

Key knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry
Biology
Education and Training
English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Administration and Management
Psychology
Personnel and Human Resources

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.
Treat problems affecting the oral mucosa, such as mouth ulcers and infections.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Social.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training (72.2% of respondents)
Related experience: None (37%)
On-the-job training: None or short demonstration (40.7%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	High	Higher on contact with others than 74% of occupations compared	81% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Very high	Higher on dealing with the public than 86% of occupations compared	67% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	Very high	Higher on teamwork than 83% of occupations compared	73% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	High	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 63% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	High	Higher on time pressure than 61% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	Very high	Higher on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared	41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	High	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 78% of occupations compared	33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of error	Very high	Higher on consequence of error than 93% of occupations compared	67% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: high
Conflict situations: very high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
Consequence of error: very high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions