What is an oral surgeon and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

If you want to be an Oral Surgeon, you need to have compassion and care. Being an Oral Surgeon means you will help with wisdom teeth extraction, impacted teeth causing pain and infections, and jaw misalignment, and bone loss. Oral surgeons also treat chronic diseases or conditions that are concerned with issues of the mouth.

To be an Oral Surgeon, you will need an undergraduate degree in science or an equivalent. You will go for four years of dental study or DMD, DDS, or BDS, four to six years residency training (six years includes two additional years for acquiring a medical degree). With all this education and experience behind you, you can make an average salary of $274,000. Currently, there are 2500 job openings for Oral Surgeons in the U.S.

ScoreOral SurgeonUS Average
Salary
10.0

Avg. Salary $427,828

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
10.0

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 17.42%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.62%

Unknown 3.28%

White 66.21%

Gender

female 74.75%

male 25.25%

Age - 45
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 - 45
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
6.5

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Oral Surgeon career paths

Key steps to become an oral surgeon

  1. Explore oral surgeon education requirements

    Most common oral surgeon degrees

    Bachelor's

    29.4 %

    Associate

    17.0 %

    Certificate

    14.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific oral surgeon skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Patients46.11%
    Patient Care19.12%
    Dental Care8.85%
    DMD6.14%
    OSHA4.87%
  3. Research oral surgeon duties and responsibilities

    • Manage all incoming medical records requests (ensuring office is within HIPPA guidelines).
    • Assist oral surgeon with daily dental procedures such as tooth extraction, implant placement, soft tissue surgery.
    • Prepare patients and surgical suite for examinations and surgical procedures.
    • Count needles, instruments and sponges.
  4. Prepare your oral surgeon resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your oral surgeon resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an oral surgeon resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Oral Surgeon Resume templates

    Build a professional Oral Surgeon resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Oral Surgeon resume.
    Oral Surgeon Resume
    Oral Surgeon Resume
    Oral Surgeon Resume
    Oral Surgeon Resume
    Oral Surgeon Resume
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    Oral Surgeon Resume
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    Oral Surgeon Resume
  5. Apply for oral surgeon jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an oral surgeon job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Oral Surgeon Job

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Average oral surgeon salary

The average Oral Surgeon salary in the United States is $427,828 per year or $206 per hour. Oral surgeon salaries range between $213,000 and $856,000 per year.

Average Oral Surgeon Salary
$427,828 Yearly
$205.69 hourly

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How do oral surgeons rate their job?

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Oral Surgeon reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

I enjoy doing full arch and single implants, tissue grafts and osseous surgery. I am a Board Certified Periodontist with 20 years of experience.

Cons

nothing


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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