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.
U.S. Workers
5,330
10-Year Growth
+4.1%
Annual Openings
200
Typical entry: Doctoral or professional degree
12 of 14 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future.
AI: Fully automatable - AI models can accurately evaluate radiographs and assess the position and future risk of wisdom teeth, enabling automated identification of current or potential problems.
Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment.
AI: Partial - AI can generate treatment plans and facilitate communication among specialists but cannot fully replace the professional collaboration and shared clinical decision‑making of human clinicians.
Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants, and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues.
AI: Partial - AI and robotic systems can plan implant positions and assist robotic placement and graft shaping, but cannot fully perform the complex soft‑tissue handling and biological regenerative decisions autonomously as of 2025.
Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth.
AI: Partial - AI can guide and assist extraction planning and navigation and some tools can assist with simple extractions, but complete autonomous surgical removal of impacted or complex teeth is not generally achievable yet.
Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
AI: Partial - AI can diagnose infections, suggest antibiotics and care pathways and help plan drainage, but cannot fully replace clinician judgment or perform all invasive drainage and complex infection management autonomously.
Remove tumors and other abnormal growths of the oral and facial regions, using surgical instruments.
AI: Partial - AI provides imaging-guided planning and intraoperative guidance for tumor excision, yet definitive resection with margin decisions and nuanced surgical technique remains a human-led task in 2025.
Provide emergency treatment of facial injuries including facial lacerations, intra-oral lacerations, and fractured facial bones.
AI: Partial - AI can triage emergencies, propose repair plans and assist with imaging-guided fixation, but real-time complex trauma management and hands-on repair of lacerations and fractures require human surgeons.
Treat problems affecting the oral mucosa, such as mouth ulcers and infections.
AI: Partial - Many mucosal conditions can be diagnosed and managed with AI-driven decision support and topical/systemic treatments, but assessment for biopsy and invasive interventions still needs clinician execution.
Perform surgery on the mouth and jaws to treat conditions, such as cleft lip and palate and jaw growth problems.
AI: Partial - AI aids in surgical planning for cleft and orthognathic surgeries and can guide intraoperative navigation, but the hands‑on corrective surgery and growth‑related decisions remain surgeon‑performed.
Perform minor cosmetic procedures, such as chin and cheekbone enhancements.
AI: Partial - For minor cosmetic augmentations AI can assist planning and robotic systems may help with precision, yet performing the full procedure and managing complications is not broadly autonomous yet.
Perform minor facial rejuvenation procedures, including the use of Botox and laser technology.
AI: Partial - AI-driven laser parameter selection and semi‑automated injection/laser devices can perform parts of facial rejuvenation, but fully autonomous Botox/laser treatments without human oversight are not standard in 2025.
Treat snoring problems, using laser surgery.
AI: Partial - AI can assist with planning and intraoperative guidance for laser snoring procedures but cannot independently perform complex surgical interventions or manage intraoperative decisions and complications as of 2025.
Administer general and local anesthetics.
AI: Not automatable - Administering general and local anesthetics involves invasive dosing, monitoring, and immediate clinical management that cannot be autonomously carried out by AI.
Restore form and function by moving skin, bone, nerves, and other tissues from other parts of the body to reconstruct the jaws and face.
AI: Not automatable - Complex microvascular free‑flap reconstruction requiring tissue transfer, microsurgical anastomosis and nuanced intraoperative judgement is not automatable with current 2025 AI/robotic capability.