Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

The dentist who became a surgeon: wisdom teeth, jaw surgery, facial fractures and implants. Dental school, then a 4 to 6 year hospital residency.

Typical pay: $110,000a year
Time to qualify: 10 to 14 yearsafter high school
Demand: Very high
Licence needed: Yesregulated job

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Quick answers

How much does an oral and maxillofacial surgeon make in Canada?

The median pay is about $110,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $33,000 at the lower end to about $228,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.

How long does it take to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Canada?

10 to 14 years after high school, on the usual route.

What does it cost to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon?

$98,000 to $290,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

Do you need a licence to work as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Canada?

Yes. It is a regulated job, so you need a licence or registration before you can work.

What is the job outlook for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Canada?

Very high demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.

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Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What dentists make, all specialties together

Median

$110,000

Lower end

$33,000

Upper end

$228,000

These are Job Bank (the Government of Canada job site) figures for all dentists together, a year. General dentists and every dental specialist are in one group, so this is not an oral surgery figure. The numbers come from the 2021 Census (Statistics Canada). Job Bank notes that a large number of people in this group are self-employed. Job Bank's oral and maxillofacial surgeon page sits in this dentists group, not with medical surgeons. We could not find a public Canadian source that reports oral surgeon pay on its own. Oral surgeons mostly run private offices paid by patients and dental insurance, with hospital work billed to the province.

Where pay is highest

$120,000 a year

The median for all dentists in Alberta, from the Census

Quebec's median is $106,000 and Ontario's $104,000. Oral surgery residents are paid a hospital salary during training, though some programs also charge graduate tuition.

Mostly private pay

Patients and dental plans

Wisdom teeth, implants and jaw surgery for bite problems are paid by the patient or their dental insurance

Hospital trauma and reconstruction bill the province. Owning the office means running a business, and setting one up with an operating suite and sedation equipment costs a lot.

What it costs to get there

Undergrad (2 to 4 years): $7,000 to $10,000 a year
Dental school, the DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) or DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine), 4 years: $20,000 to $55,000 a year, among the priciest degrees in Canada
DAT (Dental Aptitude Test), applications, interviews: $1,000 to $3,000
Residency (4 to 6 years): Paid, but some programs also charge graduate tuition
NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination): Set by the Royal College of Dentists of Canada; budget a few thousand dollars

Roughly, all in

$98,000 to $290,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

The low end is two years of undergraduate study, a four year dental degree at the cheapest Canadian schools, the DAT (Dental Aptitude Test) and application costs, and the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination). The high end is a full four year undergraduate degree and dental school at the priciest schools, which are among the most expensive degrees in Canada, plus the graduate tuition some surgical residencies still charge on top of the residency salary. The four to six residency years are paid, which is the main thing that keeps this below the orthodontics figure. Dental school debt of $150,000 to $250,000 is common, and many oral surgeons are in their early thirties before they start paying it down properly.

Dental school debt often reaches $150,000 to $250,000. The residency salary helps, but many oral surgeons finish training in their early thirties still owing a lot.

What comes with the job

No employer pension
Most oral surgeons are self-employed and save through a professional corporation.
Set your own schedule
Office owners choose their days. Hospital call is the exception.
Malpractice coverage
Through a dental liability plan. Fees are higher than for a general dentist because you do surgery and sedation.
Hospital privileges
Many keep an appointment at a hospital for trauma and bigger cases, which comes with call duties.

How to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, step by step

Dental school first, then a hospital residency alongside medical residents.

1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Top marks in biology, chemistry, math and English. Dental school admission is roughly as hard as medical school.
2
University
2 to 4 years
Most dental schools want 2 to 4 years of science courses with a high GPA (grade point average). Write the DAT (Dental Aptitude Test).
3
Dental school
4 years
The DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) or DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine). Classes, then years of treating patients in the school clinic. Get to know the oral surgery department early.
4
Oral and maxillofacial surgery residency
4 to 6 years
Hospital-based, 4 to 6 years. You rotate through general surgery, anesthesia and internal medicine with the medical residents, then spend years in oral surgery. Some Canadian programs run 6 years and include a medical degree.
5
Specialty exam and licence
End of residency
Pass the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination) run by the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, then register as a specialist with your provincial dental regulator.

High school courses that help you become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon

Biology and chemistry
Required for dental school.
Physics
On the DAT (Dental Aptitude Test) at some schools, and useful for implants and forces on bone.
Visual arts or shop
Fine hand skills and a good eye for shape. Dental schools test hand skills at admission.
English
You will explain scary surgery to nervous people every day.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: 10 to 14
Dental school acceptance rate: Low, similar to medicine
Residency spots: Only a few programs in Canada, including Western and UBC (University of British Columbia)
Total tuition: $100,000 to $250,000, mostly dental school
Paid while training?: Only during residency

Heavily regulated

You need a dental licence from your provincial dental regulator to practise, and specialist registration to call yourself an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. The NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination) from the Royal College of Dentists of Canada is the national gate, so moving provinces is paperwork. Sedation and general anesthesia in the office need a separate permit in most provinces, with inspections. Hospitals grant operating privileges on their own terms.

Quebec routeIn Quebec? The route is different. 2 more cards.

The path in Quebec

In Quebec you start dental school straight from CEGEP (public college), with no bachelor's degree first.

1
Finish Secondary V
Age 16 or 17
With Secondary V math (Technical and Scientific, or Science option), chemistry and physics. These are the entry courses for the CEGEP (public college) science program.
2
Science DEC (Diploma of College Studies)
2 years
A 2 year CEGEP (public college) program (200.B1), offered in English at Dawson and the other English colleges. Take the biology and chemistry courses dental schools ask for.
3
Dental school, straight from CEGEP
4 to 5 years
McGill starts with a 1 year Dent-P preparatory year, then a 4 year DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine). Montréal's DMD is 5 years, Laval's 4. Laval uses the TAED (dental aptitude test), Casper and interviews.
4
NDEB exams and ODQ (Ordre des dentistes du Québec) permit
After graduating
Pass the NDEB (National Dental Examining Board) exams, as everywhere in Canada. The ODQ, the Quebec order of dentists, then issues your permit once you show French.
5
Surgery residency with a medical degree
6 years
Laval and McGill each run a 6 year program that includes an MD (doctor of medicine). Laval's is in French, with 2 places a year and a master's added. McGill's gives its MDCM (McGill's medical degree) plus the surgery certificate.
6
Specialty exam and ODQ specialist certificate
End of residency
Pass the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination). In Quebec only a dentist holding an ODQ (Quebec order of dentists) specialist certificate can call themselves an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Dental schools in Quebec

McGill University: Dent-P year plus a 4 year DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine), in English
Université de Montréal: 5 year DMD, 219 credits, in French
Université Laval: 4 year DMD, 219 credits, in French, in Quebec City

McGill's Dent-P year is only for Quebec residents coming straight from CEGEP (public college). From fall 2027, Montréal drops the TAED (dental aptitude test) and Casper and uses a motivation questionnaire instead.

What helps you get ahead as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon

Things you don't need, but that help.

Fellowships that shape the practice

Optional 1 to 2 year add-ons after residency.

Head and neck cancer and reconstruction
Rebuilding jaws with bone from the leg after cancer. Hospital-based, long operations.
Cleft and craniofacial surgery
Children born with cleft lip and palate or skull differences, alongside plastic surgeons.
Cosmetic facial surgery
Chin, cheek and jaw reshaping. Private pay.
Implants and bone grafting
Rebuilding jawbone so implants can hold. A big part of many private practices.

Nice-to-haves

Fine motor hobbies
Drawing, sculpture, instrument playing, model building. Dental schools look for it and surgery demands it.
Time in a dental or surgical office
Shadowing an oral surgeon shows you the sedation, the blood and the pace before you commit a decade.
Research in dental school
Residency programs are small and weigh publications.
Comfort with emergencies
You will run sedation in your own office. Calm under pressure is not optional.

What being an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is really like

Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.

What an oral and maxillofacial surgeon does day to day

Morning in the office: three or four wisdom teeth cases under sedation, a dental implant, a biopsy of a mouth lesion. Oral surgeons train in anesthesia during residency and many give sedation in their own office. Afternoon at the hospital: a jaw broken in a hockey game, plated back together. Once a week, a long jaw-realignment operation for a bite that braces alone cannot fix. Some nights on trauma call for the emergency department.

The honest pros and cons of being an oral and maxillofacial surgeon

The good

More control over your hours than most surgeons
A mix of office procedures and real hospital surgery
Results you can see: a straight jaw, a mouth that no longer hurts
Two professions in one, dentistry and surgery

The hard parts

Dental school debt is among the highest of any degree
A tiny number of residency spots across Canada
You are responsible for sedation as well as the surgery
Trauma call and long reconstructions if you keep hospital work

Work life

Typical hours: 40 to 55 a week, plus hospital call if you take it
Remote work: None
Physical demand: Moderate to high, bent over patients for hours
Unionized: Residents yes, practising surgeons no

Similar paths

Things nobody tells you about being an oral and maxillofacial surgeon

Things people don't tell you.

Some are dentist and doctor

McGill runs a 6 year oral surgery residency that includes a medical degree, so the graduate holds both a dental and a medical doctorate. The 4-year programs skip the medical degree and reach the same specialty exam.

Counted with all dentists

Job Bank has no separate count for oral surgeons. They sit in the dentists group: about 21,400 people in 2023, and 42% of them were 50 or older.

How an oral and maxillofacial surgeon compares

Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.

More health careers in Canada

Surgeons first, then the rest of the field. See every career in health.

Where these numbers come from

Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.