How To Become A Dental Surgeon: What It Is and Career Path

What is a dental surgeon and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Do you remember how you were afraid of visiting the dentist as a child? Well, become a dental surgeon and kids will start avoiding you! But don't let that deter you because the profession is critical to proper health. What would we do without healthy teeth and beautiful smiles?

Dental Surgeons are quite different from dentists. The key difference is that dentists are focused on preventive care and helping you preserve your dental health, while Dental Surgeons are the guys you call when something needs to be removed, replaced, or fixed.

If you wanted to become a dental surgeon, you'd need to spend an extra four to eight years in medical school training to become an expert in your chosen area. Dental Surgeons perform procedures ranging from simple ones like teeth extraction to fixing dental implants.

ScoreDental SurgeonUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $279,537

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 7%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.14%

Asian 12.67%

Black or African American 1.81%

Hispanic or Latino 5.01%

Unknown 3.76%

White 76.60%

Gender

female 60.49%

male 39.51%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.4

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a dental surgeon

Explore dental surgeon education requirements

Most common dental surgeon degrees

Bachelor's

78.5 %

Doctorate

11.1 %

Master's

6.5 %

Start to develop specific dental surgeon skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	33.23%
Diagnosis	9.87%
Dental Clinic	8.53%
Surgical Extractions	5.37%
Oral Surgery	4.78%

Research dental surgeon duties and responsibilities

Manage early and moderate periodontal disease, evaluate the results of periodontal treatment and establish maintenance program.
Work collaboratively with other professionals to create effective treatment for the patients.
Research on tobacco induce oral cancers and diagnose and perform surgical treatments on oral cancer patients.
General dentistry focuse on restorative, minor surgeries and open method extractions, removable prosthetics, endodontics, non-surgical periodontics

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