What You'll Do

  • Administer general and local anesthetics.
  • Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth.
  • Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future.
  • Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment.
  • Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues.
  • Remove tumors and other abnormal growths of the oral and facial regions, using surgical instruments.
  • Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
  • Treat problems affecting the oral mucosa, such as mouth ulcers and infections.
  • Provide emergency treatment of facial injuries including facial lacerations, intra-oral lacerations, and fractured facial bones.
  • Perform surgery on the mouth and jaws to treat conditions such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and jaw growth problems.

Essential Skills

Complex Problem Solving 4.12/5
Judgment and Decision Making 4.12/5
Reading Comprehension 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 4.0/5
Active Listening 3.88/5
Speaking 3.88/5
Active Learning 3.88/5
Monitoring 3.88/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.75/5
Coordination 3.62/5
Writing 3.5/5
Science 3.5/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.

Common styles

Attention to Detail, Dependability, Cautiousness, Stress Tolerance, Self-Control

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Arm-Hand Steadiness 4.25/5
Finger Dexterity 4.12/5
Near Vision 4.12/5
Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 4.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Ada Apteryx Imaging Suite DecisionBase TiME for OMS DentalEye Dolphin Imaging & Management Solutions Dolphin Management DSN Software Oral Surgery-Exec Gendex Dental Systems VixWin PRO Kodak Dental Systems Kodak Cosmetic Imaging Module Operating system software Planmeca Oy Dimaxis Sirona SIDEXIS XG

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 5.0/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.95/5)
  • Cautiousness (High importance: 4.75/5)
  • Stress Tolerance (High importance: 4.7/5)
  • Self-Control (High importance: 4.67/5)

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How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Dental Surgeon Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Maxillofacial Surgeon Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (OMS) Oral Surgeon Surgeon

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.