Future job outlook for Oral Surgeons

[13tEEth]

Hey guys.

I’m a Dental student at UAB, and I am wondering what yalls thoughts are on the future job outlook and salary potential for oral surgeons

With the rise of the “Super GP” dentist, and general dentists desiring to push into more surgical work like grafting, implants, and removing thirds, how do y’all expect this to affect referrals to and demand for oral surgeons.

The path to surgery is very long and difficult, and I’m considering taking it, but do not want to put all the work in on the front side to end up in a place where I earn similar to a general dentist who is doing the same procedures or practice in a market where there is less demand for oral surgeons?

It seems like CBCTs are making 3rds more predictable, and as the cost of these machines drop, dentists will outfit their offices with them. Furthermore, it seems like there are a lot of dentists that want to do IV light sedation and do more surgical work. I’m even getting instagram adds for CE courses on sinus lifts and zygomatic implants, and I know these adds are targeted at general dentists.

Do you think there is a world 10-20-30 years down the line where the demand for oral surgeons is less, and hence they have less capacity to earn like they have been for the past 50 years?

Thanks guys,

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[Pablo Sanchez]

There will always be a need for oral surgeons. It’s a field protected by the limited residency spots and the CBSE so saturation is unlikely to be an issue. There are many, many, many incompetent dentists who either refuse to extract a tooth or place an implant or do attempt these procedures and need to be bailed out. Sure, fewer slam dunk cases might walk through the door, but oral surgeons are very skilled and trained to handle the more complex procedures, and thank God for that. Us general dentists will always need them. I’d say of the dental specialties, oral surgeons are on the safer end of the spectrum.

 

[DocMon16]

Hey guys.

I’m a Dental student at UAB, and I am wondering what yalls thoughts are on the future job outlook and salary potential for oral surgeons

With the rise of the “Super GP” dentist, and general dentists desiring to push into more surgical work like grafting, implants, and removing thirds, how do y’all expect this to affect referrals to and demand for oral surgeons.

The path to surgery is very long and difficult, and I’m considering taking it, but do not want to put all the work in on the front side to end up in a place where I earn similar to a general dentist who is doing the same procedures or practice in a market where there is less demand for oral surgeons?

It seems like CBCTs are making 3rds more predictable, and as the cost of these machines drop, dentists will outfit their offices with them. Furthermore, it seems like there are a lot of dentists that want to do IV light sedation and do more surgical work. I’m even getting instagram adds for CE courses on sinus lifts and zygomatic implants, and I know these adds are targeted at general dentists.

Do you think there is a world 10-20-30 years down the line where the demand for oral surgeons is less, and hence they have less capacity to earn like they have been for the past 50 years?

Thanks guys,

The future for OMFS is bright. I don’t think there is a huge rise in super GPs for one. I’ve been out 5 years from school and finishing residency now, I’ve had many instances where classmates have tried performing tougher extractions or third molars and have gotten burned so they aren’t doing them as much. Not to mention, they aren’t getting reimbursed for the procedure like we do as OMFS. Sure, there’s always going to be a GP who will take on such cases but until they have a complication and whether they can manage it or not will be a factor in them continuing to do such cases. I don’t know any of my classmates doing lateral window sinus lifts…maybe some are but it’s not a common procedure they do.

CBCTS aren’t the gold standard for third molar impactions and they don’t make the procedure any easier…that’s irrelevant.

I also don’t believe there’s a large rise in GPs doing ambulatory anesthesia, even so they can only provide light to moderate sedation at best.

We as OMFS can also perform facial trauma, TMJ surgery, orthognathic surgery, cosmetic surgery, craniofacial, the list goes on.

The social media adds will always be there. Just because GPs are getting targeted to do these procedures doesn’t mean they will come out in the masses and be able to do so. You have to remember that when doing many of these procedures they are held to a specialist standard of care and you must be able to handle complications of any procedure you do. If you can’t, then you shouldn’t be performing them.

All in all, OMFS has a bright future and we aren’t going anywhere as far as I can see. Most of my co-residents have had no issues finding jobs, we are in high demand as a specialty.

 

[lol105]

It is a specialty that is the least affected by the super GPs. Many aspire to be super GPs, but not many do follow through since the overhead cost will be tremendous by trying to be one. And GPs tend to stay away from anything but straight forward surgery cases as they progress in their career for multiple reasons. So OMFS always has been in demand and will be in demand for a foreseeable future as well.

 

[13tEEth]

Nice all great info thank you for the replies

 

[yappy]

It has the best outlook.

 

[anointed21]

What about the future job outlook of endodontists?