Oral Surgeon

What is an Oral Surgeon?

The following are common responsibilities are common for Oral Surgeons:

• Interviews patients to identify the issues and problems that need corrected
• Preforms examinations and make diagnosis
• Prescribes treatment plans for patients
• Preforms surgical procedures on the teeth, mouth, tongue and jaw
• Consults and assists orthodontists and dentists on various oral surgeries

A Day In The Life

Oral surgeons preform surgeries and related procedures on the hard and soft tissues of the mouth to treat disease, illness, defects or injuries.  They help patients manage disease in and surrounding their teeth.  They also restructure the bones to correct congenital birth defects or repair wounds and injuries and deformities and parts of the mouth, jaw or face.

They also extract teeth that have become impacted, infected or damaged.  They do this by preforming orthodontic surgery as well as possible preprosthetic surgery to prepare the patient for implants and dentures.  Removal of gum tissue or implanting bone grafts may also be required.  Some grafts are designed to repair damaged bone structure to the jaw, sinus and orbital bones of the face.

Typical Work Schedule

Oral surgeons often follow varying work schedules depending on the scheduled surgeries and the schedule of the workplace. Some may follow the regular 40-50 hours working schedule whether in a private practice office or other care centers. Others will work on evenings and weekends to meet their patients’ needs. They should also be available on call since they sometimes have to interfere in urgent situation when an accident involves the facial bones for example. You may also need to work for longer hours to compensate for an absent colleague. Accordingly, you should be flexible regarding your working schedule based on the needs of your clients.

Projected Job Growth

There are currently around 9,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons working in the country. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of oral surgeons is expected to grow by at least 2% from 2019 to 2029 which is less than the average for all other occupations. This indicates that there is increasing competition in the job market and it may become more challenging to find a suitable vacancy in this career. Recently, there has been a demand for promoting good oral hygiene as recent research shows its link to overall health. As the populations in general ages with more old people keeping their teeth unlike previous generations, more problems will arise that require complicated dental services and even surgical interventions. Such problems include increased risk of oral cancer which requires advanced dental skills for reconstruction, improving function and appearance or other interventions. This increased demand however will also be matched the large number of fresh graduates in this field. The competition is expected to be stronger in places where sufficient number of oral surgeons already exist.

Typical Employers 

Oral surgeons can work in medical care centers, general medical and surgical hospitals. Some prefer to work privately whether individually or with a partner, establishing their own offices where they can continue their practices with more flexibility. However, it is more challenging to run your own business as surgeries require more advanced equipment and strictly sterile conditions. Oral surgeons can also work for colleges, universities and professional schools. Some may prefer to work with outpatient care centers.