Not just anyone can apply to be an oral surgeon. Well, they could, but unless they’ve gone through the rigorous training and education required, they’d be rejected. Mouth surgeries are complicated procedures, and they require a skilled dental surgeon to perform them well.
Oral and maxillofacial surgical specialists diagnose and treat diseases and injuries of the mouth, head, neck, face, and jaws. They work around a ton of connected areas and have a deep, intricate understanding of the anatomy—they’d probably know your facial structure as well as the back of their hand.
Whether you realize it or not, that oral surgeon down the road from you has probably had close to a full decade of continued education following their undergraduate degree to get to where they are today. But what does that education look like? And how do mouth surgeons keep up-to-date on all the new advancements in the field post-grad school and residency? We’re here to help clear things up.
Once They’ve Finished College, Oral Surgeons Go to Dental School
As with most specialized degrees, surgical specialists who deal with oral operations have continued education beyond their undergraduate degree. In the case of that local oral surgeon you’ve been researching, they’re practically guaranteed to have completed an additional four years of dental school.
Dental school is the gateway to becoming a mouth surgery specialist. Graduates earn either a Doctor of Dental Surgery or a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree. Both of these are functionally the same—depending on where someone attends school, it will be called one or the other.
The first two years of dental school are pre-clinical, which involves soon-to-be oral surgeons hunkering down in the classroom. They intensely study biomedical sciences and foundational dental sciences. This provides them with a comprehensive understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology.
In the last two years, dental students move to a clinical setting where they obtain hands-on experience with plenty of supervision. During this part of their dental school journey, students perform cleanings, fillings, crowns, and simple extractions on patients. Top-performing students who have a passion for dental surgery will take mentorships with on-site maxillofacial oral surgeons and help perform more complex cases.
Soon-To-Be Oral Surgeons Also Complete Residencies
After graduating from their dental schools, students who are training to be dental surgical specialists take part in a residency program in which they’re placed in hospitals to receive hands-on experience. This phase of their education typically lasts from 4-6 years, and it’s highly competitive.
Residents receive thorough anesthesia training. Sedation used in oral surgeries has the potential for unintended side effects when administered improperly. Residents training to be oral maxillofacial surgeons take part in months-long training to ensure they know the ins and outs of safely administering deep sedation and general anesthesia to patients.
There is also a plethora of rotations for residents to take part in. Each rotation focuses on a different field of surgery—for example, on one rotation, students might extensively focus on reconstructive surgery, while on another rotation, they might focus on emergency cases and medicine.
Over the course of the 4-6 years, residents studying to be a maxillofacial dental surgeon will have a masterful understanding of the following procedures and many more:
- Dental implant surgery
- Dental bone grafts
- Facial trauma reconstruction
- Temporomandibular joint surgery (TMJ)
- Cleft lip/palate surgery
The Best Oral Surgeons in the Area Will Have Board Certification Too
Besides a robust education, the one thing that separates ordinary surgeons from exceptionally skilled dental surgeons is board certification. While a residency is what qualifies a surgeon to practice, board certification is the highest possible level of achievement.
The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery issues both written and oral exams in order to get certified. The written exam is fully comprehensive and covers the full scope of the specialty. The oral exam is a multi-day event in which candidates are ruthlessly tested on their clinical judgement in front of a panel of senior judges. No pressure.
While board certification is the gold standard, techniques and medicines routinely change, and oral surgery experts routinely keep up to date with all the new developments. The next time you meet with your local oral surgeon, be confident that you are in the hands of a skilled expert who has given up over a decade of their life to get to where they are today.
