Oral surgeons address a wide array of problems, many of which normal dentists cannot fix.  In order to gain all of the necessary skills, oral surgeons have to go through many more years of schooling and training than dentists.  While dentists just have to pass licensure exam to practice in their area after completing their schooling, oral surgeons also have to complete an additional four-to-six-year surgical residency.  This allows them to gain important hands-on experience while still being under the watchful eye of a more accomplished mentor.  By the time they get to open their own practice, oral surgeons have had a minimum of 10 years of school and training.  All this schooling and training allows them to have skills that normal dentists do not have.

Specialties

Some of the things that oral surgeons specialize in are:

• Complex tooth extractions, such as wisdom teeth and other impacted teeth.  These are teeth that have not come up like they were supposed to, that cannot come in because there is no room for them, or that are coming in at an incorrect angle or position.
• Evaluating, planning out, and placing dental implants.  A tooth implant is when a titanium rod is inserted into your gums, like a tooth root, and fuses to your jaw.  It provides a solid and durable anchor to attach a fake tooth onto and is often preferred to partial or full dentures.
• Diagnosing and treating facial pain due to conditions such as temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).  TMJ can lead to sever headaches and pain in your jaw and cheeks.
• Treating facial trauma.  Because of their training, they can reconnect severed nerves, set broken jaw and facial bones, and repair minor cuts.  They can work with injuries that involve oral tissues, jaws, check and nasal bones, eye sockets, and the forehead.  If you have been in an accident and need to know where to get corrective surgery for your face, an oral surgeon can often help you.
• Removing tumors.  Sometimes tumors, both benign and cancerous, can form in the oral cavity and facial area.  Oral surgeons are trained to remove them effectively and help you on your path to recovery.

Oral Surgeons Treat the Problem

One of the biggest benefits of going to an oral surgeon is their problem treatment.  They do not just diagnose the symptoms that you have.  While that is part of what they do, they go farther.  They can take you from diagnosing the problem from your symptoms, to performing the surgery, to giving advice on how to recover from whatever surgery was necessary.