Oral Surgeon Requirements

• While all dentists must complete a four-year bachelor's degree and make it through four years of dental school, oral surgeons must complete additional training to receive licensing to practice their specialty. According to the American Dental Association, oral and maxillofacial surgery programs must be at least 48 months long -- an additional four years of full-time study on top of general dentistry requirements. Before oral surgeons can practice independently, they also must complete 30-month residency programs after finishing their formal schooling.
  
  

Oral Surgeon Salary

• Their long training requirements explain why oral surgery professionals are so well-paid. Even the lowest-earning 10 percent made $98,000 per year, or $47.12 in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That low-end figure offers a reasonable estimate of what an entry-level oral surgeon might get paid. Half of oral surgeons made $166,400 per year or more, foreshadowing the future earning potential of junior oral surgery professionals.
  
  

In Comparison

• Entry-level dental professionals in other specialties earned less in 2010 than oral surgeons, according to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay was still more than respectable for all practitioners, however. The lowest-paid general dentists made $71,390 annually. Meanwhile, entry-level orthodontists, the professionals who straighten teeth with braces and other appliances, earned around $72,490. Prosthodontists, the specialists who make oral prostheses for both functional and aesthetic purposes, took home the least in 2010. The lowest-paid 10 percent of these professionals earned $41,370 per year.
  
  

Career Advice

• If netting the highest salary is your goal, start your career in a high-paying setting. Oral surgeons who work in dental offices, including those in private practice, earned the most in 2010, taking home $105.77 per hour, or $219,990 per year on average. Oral surgeons working in doctors' offices came in second place, making $210,610 annually, equivalent to $101.26 per hour. Those employed by outpatient care centers were generally the least well off, earning $87.81 per hour, or $182,640 per year. You can also maximize your earning potential by moving to a high-paying area. In 2010, the top five states in terms of salary were West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Maine and Kentucky.