Career Explorer Healthcare (clinical)
Human edge, growing
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.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 95% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +5.6% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement and physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $352,220
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.6%
- Openings a year
- 200
- People doing it (2025)
- 5,600
- Usual route in
- Doctorate or professional degree, then an internship or residency
Where people already use AI for this work
- Analyze health or medical data
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases
- Administer basic health care or medical treatments
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
What the work looks like
- 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.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Orthotists and prosthetistsHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +12.9%
- Physician assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +21.1%
Also known as: DDS (Dental Surgery Doctor), Maxillofacial Surgeon, Oral Surgeon, Surgeon, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Resident.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.