Becoming an oral surgeon takes a minimum of 12 years after high school: four years of undergraduate education, four years of dental school, and at least four years of surgical residency. Some choose a six-year residency that includes a medical degree, pushing the total to 14 years. It’s one of the longest training paths in dentistry, but it leads to a specialty with a median salary at or above $239,200.
Undergraduate Education
There’s no required major for aspiring oral surgeons, but you need a strong foundation in the sciences. Most programs expect coursework in biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. These double as prerequisites for dental school and preparation for the Dental Admission Test (DAT), which you’ll take during your junior or senior year.
Competitive dental school applicants carry high GPAs. For reference, the 2024 entering class at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine had an average overall GPA of 3.7 and an average science GPA of 3.7. DAT scores averaged 22 for both the Academic Average and Total Science sections. These numbers are fairly representative of what strong programs expect, so aiming for a GPA above 3.5 and a DAT score in the low 20s puts you in a competitive position.
Dental School: DDS or DMD
Dental school is a four-year program (some accelerated tracks finish in three) that awards either a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD). The two degrees are functionally equivalent. The first two years focus heavily on classroom and lab instruction in anatomy, pathology, pharmacology, and oral biology. The final two years shift toward clinical rotations where you treat patients under supervision.
During dental school, you’ll want to seek out experiences that strengthen a future oral surgery application. Rotations on hospital-based oral surgery services, research projects in the specialty, and strong letters of recommendation from oral surgeons all matter when it’s time to apply for residency. Many programs also look for evidence that you can handle the physical and mental demands of long surgical cases.
Matching Into Residency
Oral surgery residency spots are filled through the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program, which works similarly to the medical residency match. After interviewing with programs, you submit a ranked list of your preferred programs. Each program simultaneously submits its own ranked list of candidates. An algorithm then pairs applicants and programs based on mutual preferences, with all offers, acceptances, and rejections happening at the same time.
This system prevents the pressure of early, rushed decisions. You get to fully evaluate programs before committing, and programs do the same with you. Oral surgery is one of the most competitive dental specialties, so strong board scores, clinical performance, and research experience all factor into where you match.
The 4-Year vs. 6-Year Residency
This is one of the biggest decisions in the path. Since 1970, two training routes have led to board certification in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
The four-year track is a certificate program. It includes about one year of medical training through off-service rotations (time spent on other surgical and medical services within the hospital) and four to six months of dedicated anesthesia training. You graduate eligible for board certification and can enter practice with your dental degree alone.
The six-year track integrates a full medical degree (MD) into the residency. At NYU, for example, the first year combines introductory oral surgery rotations with medical school coursework. Years two and three continue medical education, including anesthesia rotations and medical licensing exams. Graduates complete a full year as a general surgery resident and must obtain a medical license before their final year. This dual-degree path produces surgeons who hold both a dental degree and a medical degree, which can expand practice scope, particularly for complex reconstructive and trauma cases. It also opens the door to medical licensure in states that require it for certain hospital privileges.
Spots in six-year programs are extremely limited. NYU accepts just two applicants per year into its six-year track and one into its four-year program. Both pathways lead to the same board certification, and both produce fully qualified oral surgeons.
What Oral Surgeons Actually Do
The core of most oral surgery practices is extracting diseased or impacted teeth, particularly wisdom teeth. But the specialty extends well beyond extractions. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained across the entire face, jaw, and skull complex, handling both bone and soft tissue.
- Dental implants: Titanium cylinders placed into the jawbone to replace missing tooth roots. Oral surgeons handle diagnosis, bone and soft tissue preparation, implant placement, and ongoing maintenance.
- Orthognathic surgery: Corrective jaw surgery for developmental abnormalities that affect chewing, speech, or facial appearance. This is typically done under general anesthesia in coordination with an orthodontist.
- Facial trauma: Fractures of the jaw, cheekbones, and other facial bones, often from accidents or injuries.
- Cleft and craniofacial surgery: Surgical correction of congenital conditions like cleft lip and palate.
- Pathology and biopsies: Removing suspicious lesions from the mouth and jaw, treating oral infections, and managing tumors of the facial region.
- Anesthesia: Oral surgeons are trained to administer general anesthesia and sedation in office settings, a skill unique among dental specialists.
Surgeons who complete the six-year MD track tend to take on more complex reconstructive and trauma cases, though four-year graduates practice the full scope as well.
Board Certification
After completing residency, you’re eligible to pursue certification through the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS). Certification isn’t legally required to practice, but it’s widely considered the professional standard and most employers and hospital systems expect it.
The process has two phases. First is the Qualifying Examination, a computer-based test with 300 questions covering 11 subject areas. Passing this makes you eligible for the Oral Certifying Examination, a face-to-face oral exam where you work through twelve clinical cases across three sections over 144 minutes. You have three consecutive years after passing the written exam to complete the oral portion.
Timeline and Salary
Adding it all up, the fastest path from your first day of college to independent practice is about 12 years: four undergraduate, four dental school, four residency. Choosing the six-year residency extends that to 14 years. Factor in the time to complete board certification exams, and most oral surgeons are fully credentialed in their early to mid-30s.
The financial payoff is substantial. As of May 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage at or above $239,200 for oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Many in private practice earn considerably more, particularly those performing high volumes of implant placements and complex reconstructive procedures. The trade-off is a long training period with significant student debt, often exceeding $300,000 from dental school alone, before earning a full surgeon’s salary.