Searching

Career Exploration

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Also called: Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (OMS), Oral Surgeon, Surgeon

What they 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.

On the job, you would:
  • Administer general and local anesthetics.
  • Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment.
  • Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future.
On the job, you'll need:

Health

  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Math and Science

  • biology
  • psychology

Business

  • customer service

Basic Skills

  • reading work related information
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Hand and Finger Use

  • keep your arm or hand steady
  • put together small parts with your fingers

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • notice when problems happen

Attention

  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Investigative

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Integrity
  • Concern for Others
  • Self Control
  • Stress Tolerance

Graphics or photo imaging software

  • Apteryx Imaging Suite
  • Sirona SIDEXIS XG

Medical software

  • DecisionBase TiME for OMS
  • Dolphin Imaging & Management Solutions Dolphin Management

Development environment software

  • Ada

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $0

Education

Post-doctoral training or doctoral degree is usually needed.