Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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.
Also called: DDS (Dental Surgery Doctor), Maxillofacial Surgeon, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Resident, Oral Surgeon, Surgeon
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $394,690
- $189.76/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- Not published
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- Not published
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Doctoral or professional degree
- plus Internship/residency
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $92,620 | $266,350 | $394,690 | $399,400 | $414,910 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d 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.
- Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
- 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.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure32 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 40
- Language-model AIOE 37
- GPTs-are-GPTs 19
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for oral and maxillofacial surgeons is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools might eventually help with evaluating wisdom tooth position or planning care. Surgery, anesthesia, treating infections, and working directly with other dental specialists rely on the surgeon's hands and judgment.
Likely to change
- Evaluating wisdom tooth position on images
- Supporting treatment planning with other specialists
Still relies on people
- Performing surgery and removing teeth
- Giving anesthesia and treating infections
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
0 programs near Boston (plus 2 graduate)
No programs below a master’s degree near Boston map to this job. Tick the box above to see graduate programs.
Related occupations
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