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Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons

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

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.

Knowledge

Health
  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling
Arts and Humanities
  • English language
Math and Science
  • biology
  • psychology
Business
  • customer service

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Integrity
  • Concern for Others
  • Self Control
  • Stress Tolerance

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Graphics or photo imaging software
  • DentalEye software
  • Planmeca Oy Dimaxis
Medical software
  • DecisionBase TiME for OMS
  • DSN Software Oral Surgery-Exec

Education

Education: (rated 5 of 5)
doctoral/professional degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Average Outlook
New job opportunities are likely in the future.
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about oral and maxillofacial surgeons.