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 highly skilled, extensively trained 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 know human facial structure like 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 study biomedical sciences and foundational dental sciences, which provide them with a comprehensive understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology.
In the last two years of dental school, dental students move to a clinical setting where they obtain hands-on experience under 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 them perform more complex oral surgery procedures.
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 even more 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 focus on reconstructive surgery, while on another, they might focus on emergency cases and medicine.
Over the course of 4-6 years, residents studying to be maxillofacial dental surgeons will attain mastery over 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 Also Have Board Certification
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.
Top Oral Surgeons Keep Up with Advanced Surgical Technology
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. Modern oral surgery relies on advances like 3D Cone Beam Computed Technology (CBCT), which provides a three-dimensional view of the teeth, soft tissues, nerve paths, and bone with a single scan.
Mastering this equipment requires ongoing specialized training to interpret digital pathology and create precise surgical guides for procedures like dental implants. By integrating this advanced imaging technique, an oral surgeon uses their decade-plus of anatomical knowledge to diagnose oral issues and plan minimally invasive entries to ensure faster healing and less post-op discomfort.
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, and keeps up with the latest advances in their field to ensure that your next oral procedure goes off as smoothly as it can.
