Oral Surgeon Salary in 2026: What Oral Surgeons Earn
25th percentile
$204,610
Median (50th)
$352,220
75th percentile
$428,710
90th percentile
$622,640
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (SOC 29-1022, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons), May 2025 (via O*NET/BLS) — the most recent national release.
Oral Surgeon Compensation Structure
Compensation for oral surgeonsvaries significantly by employment type. Here's how the most common structures break down:
National median
About $169 an hour (BLS OEWS, SOC 29-1022, May 2025).
$352,220 / yr
Typical range (10th–90th pct)
OMS wages span an exceptionally wide band (BLS).
$86,250–$622,640
Owner vs. associate
Most OMS own or partner in practices; earnings blend clinical pay and practice profit (directional).
Owners typically higher
Oral Surgeon Pay by State
Every state estimate BLS publishes for oral surgeons rests on a small or imprecise sample (an unpublished employment count, a BLS wage error margin of 10% or more, or an implausible percentile spread), so this page does not rank states. The table below lists each published figure.
What Affects Oral Surgeon Salary?
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are typically the highest-paid professionals in dentistry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median at about $352,220 per year — roughly $169 an hour — with an exceptionally wide range, from around $86,000 at the 10th percentile to more than $622,000 at the 90th (BLS OEWS, SOC 29-1022, May 2025). As with the other high-earning specialties, estimates vary by source and release, so read the median as a strong central estimate rather than a precise line.
The spread reflects how varied OMS careers are. Most surgeons own or partner in practices, so their real earnings blend clinical pay with practice profit, which a wage figure only partly captures. Case mix matters enormously — a practice weighted toward implants, jaw surgery, and hospital cases pays differently from one focused on routine extractions — as do hospital privileges and whether the surgeon is early-career or established.
Geography and supply move it too. OMS is a small occupation — only a few thousand nationally — so local demand and the number of surgeons in a market can swing pay more than in larger fields. High-demand, higher-cost regions generally pay the most.
Figures are national averages from the latest BLS release and are for general information only; actual pay varies by ownership, case mix, region, and experience.
Oral Surgeon Salary by State
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are a very small occupation, so BLS publishes a state wage estimate for only 12 states — including no figure for California or Texas. Absence here means BLS did not publish an estimate, NOT that oral surgeons are unlicensed, absent or poorly paid in that state. For a fuller national picture see the percentiles above.