Oral Surgeon Salaries: How Much Do They Really Make?

Key Takeaways

Oral surgeons earn $212,300–$368,879 yearly, influenced by degree, experience, and location.
Dual-degree (MD/DDS) surgeons typically earn more but require longer training.
Salaries vary widely by state and industry; dentists’ offices pay the highest.
Hiring decisions should prioritize surgical competency over degree type or title.

Oral surgeons can earn up to $368,879 a year, according to some sources.

They can perform surgery in oral and maxillofacial regions, one of the most structure-dense areas in the human body. Needless to say, it’s a heavy job title.

This guide will discuss the average salary that surgeons get from such delicate treatment, as well as the differences between MD oral surgeons and DDS oral surgeons.

That’s right, an oral surgeon can start as a doctor of medicine or a dentist. If you want to know more, read along this simple guide.

Table of Contents

What Is the Average Oral Surgeon Salary?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national average for oral and maxillofacial surgeons is $212,300 per year, with the possibility to shoot up to $351,320 in dentists’ offices.

Other sources around the web report fluctuating ranges:

This fluctuation results from various factors, each of which will be discussed in the following section.

Factors That Affect The Average Salary of an OMFS

Considering that sources claim a salary range of over $250,000 for oral surgeons, it’s important to dissect the factors that can change how much an oral surgeon is paid.

The factors below are the major players, along with the business savvy and negotiating skills of the surgeon himself.

Education

There are two paths that a student pursuing oral and maxillofacial surgery can take. Depending on their preference, they can attain a medical degree or dentistry degree.

Medical Degree

When a surgeon is in a medical training program, they spend six years in residency instead of four, emphasizing their medical training.

Depending on the school that they attend, this medical training could span an additional two years or even more.

Dentistry Degree

When a surgeon is pursuing a non-medical degree, they only spend four years in residency without any extra medical training. Their entire residency focuses on honing the skills of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Area of Practice

The area of the country where an OMFS is practicing will significantly affect their potential for compensation.

The following two tables illustrate the top 10 and the bottom 10 states regarding the average salary of an oral surgeon:

Top 10 states:

State	Annual Salary	Monthly Pay	Weekly Pay	Hourly Wage
New York	$402,897	$33,574	$7,748	$193.70
Pennsylvania	$368,926	$30,743	$7,094	$177.37
New Hampshire	$360,758	$30,063	$6,937	$173.44
New Jersey	$355,287	$29,607	$6,832	$170.81
Wyoming	$351,452	$29,287	$6,758	$168.97
Washington	$350,973	$29,247	$6,749	$168.74
Wisconsin	$348,458	$29,038	$6,701	$167.53
Massachusetts	$348,449	$29,037	$6,700	$167.52
Alaska	$347,536	$28,961	$6,683	$167.08
Oregon	$344,721	$28,726	$6,629	$165.73

Bottom 10 states:

State	Annual Salary	Monthly Pay	Weekly Pay	Hourly Wage
Idaho	$290,624	$24,218	$5,588	$139.72
Louisiana	$290,437	$24,203	$5,585	$139.63
Oklahoma	$290,015	$24,167	$5,577	$139.43
Texas	$288,140	$24,011	$5,541	$138.53
North Carolina	$286,932	$23,911	$5,517	$137.95
West Virginia	$284,928	$23,744	$5,479	$136.98
Kentucky	$276,302	$23,025	$5,313	$132.84
Michigan	$275,661	$22,971	$5,301	$132.53
Florida	$270,269	$22,522	$5,197	$129.94
Arkansas	$262,222	$21,851	$5,042	$126.07

Source: ZipRecruiter (2024)

Experience

An oral surgeon in residency can expect to make between $55,000 to $64,000 per year.

For most surgeons, annual pay increases by 3.5% each year. According to Payscale.com, entry-level oral surgeons can earn a little over $200,000. Within four years, this same surgeon can make $226,000 per year.

After accumulating ten years of experience, an oral surgeon could increase that annual compensation. Once a surgeon has been practicing full-time for over 20 years, their annual salary can jump significantly to over $300,000.

Industry

Many different industries employ someone to perform dental surgery. Depending on which industry an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is engaged in, they can expect a different hourly wage.

BLS has listed four major industries for oral and maxillofacial surgeons. They are as follows:

Offices of Dentists

Hourly mean wage: $168.90
Annual mean wage: $351,320

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

Hourly mean wage: $125.10
Annual mean wage: $260,200

Offices of Physicians

Hourly mean wage: $109.79
Annual mean wage: $228,360

Outpatient Care Centers

Hourly mean wage: $98.41
Annual mean wage: $204,700

Note: there’s also private practice, which is almost always higher (since you’re the one on top. However, the median salary here can severely fluctuate, making it difficult to provide an estimate.

Are you interested in the salaries of common physician specialties?

Single Degree vs. Dual Degree Oral Surgeons

The biggest question that many clinics face when hiring an oral surgeon is whether to hire an MD or DDS, doctor or dentist.

This is such a big decision for both clinics and oral surgeons. Access OMFS (a site dedicated to helping deliver information to OMFS residents about the industry) posted two separate articles discussing and comparing the two paths.

The first post discusses the differences in the educational programs themselves. The second post compares both programs’ income potential and whether the income difference is worth the extra education.

Salary Difference

According to OMFS, the starting salary for a single-degree oral surgeon who earns a dentistry degree is an average of $225,000. Comparably, the starting salary for dual-degree oral surgeons who earn a doctoral degree is an average of $240,000.

This article series also quotes the reported numbers from the ADA login, which you can’t access without an ADA number.

According to their discovery, oral and maxillofacial surgeons’ median annual income is around $400,000. Yet, this number doesn’t distinguish between the single or dual degree that a surgeon holds.

Educational Difference

When a surgeon decides which path to take to become an OMFS, the most significant difference in their choice involves how much education they would need to acquire.

Earning a single degree consists of four years of residency in oral surgery after completing dental school.

To earn a dual degree, both dental and medical, a surgeon has to complete six years of residency with much time spent in medical training. These surgeons must also pass the USMLE test.

According to this article series from AccessOMFS, each dual degree program differs in how much time is spent in medical training versus oral surgery.

It would be good to check the medical school OMSF training program to see how many months were dedicated to medical vs. OMSF.

This would affect how much training a surgeon would have in general medical knowledge versus the experience they would have in specifically oral surgery.

How to Decide

When choosing a candidate for your clinic, considering their degree may or may not be the best tactic. It’s important to consider which is more critical to your clinic.

Would the status of an MD help alleviate any worries that your patients might have when undergoing serious surgery?

Perhaps it’s more important to ensure that the candidate can perform the necessary procedures that your clinic often requires.

Suppose your clinic is highly saturated with cleft palates, surgical corrections of skeletal deformities, and maxillofacial traumas. In that case, you need to ensure that your chosen candidate has been trained well or has experience in these procedures.

If your clinic is mostly responsible for teeth extractions and dental implants, surely a dental degree would be sufficient for your chosen oral surgeon.

When you consider the value of the oral surgeon, it really comes down to the type and intensity of their OMSF training, not which title they hold.

Some programs that provide an oral surgeon with a doctorate don’t provide enough training in the oral surgery room’s actual procedures.

Wrapping Up

It can be challenging to fill a position with the right candidate when the available applicants all have similar educational backgrounds.

With this additional factor to consider for your oral and maxillofacial surgeon position, it can certainly be challenging to choose the best surgeon for your clinic.

The best method to choose which oral surgeon to hire is to weigh not the title but the individual for competency and experience. Take into consideration how their past positions have prepared them to fulfill your clinic’s needs.

For further guidance, contact one of the advisors at Physicians Thrive.

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