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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.

4,910 people do this job in the US. $352,220 a year.

now
11%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 11%
  • 7%
  • 82%
0%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 11% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 11%.

0%5%10%15%20%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 0% within reacho3, April 2025: 5% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 7% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 9% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 9% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 10% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 10% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 11% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 11% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 15 tasks from .

TaskKind
Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants and to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues.Done several times a day by most who do it. 26%1.7 h50 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 24%50 min25 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth to determine whether problems exist currently or might occur in the future.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 11%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Administer general and local anesthetics.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 8%17 min8 min to 38 minStays with people
Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.Done daily by most who do it. 8%1.3 h25 min to 2.5 hStays with people
Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment.Done daily by most who do it. 7%38 min17 min to 1.3 hStays with people
Remove tumors and other abnormal growths of the oral and facial regions, using surgical instruments.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 4%2.5 h1.3 h to 5 hStays with people
Restore form and function by moving skin, bone, nerves, and other tissues from other parts of the body to reconstruct the jaws and face.Done yearly or less by most who do it. 3%5 h2.5 h to 1.3 work daysStays with people
Provide emergency treatment of facial injuries including facial lacerations, intra-oral lacerations, and fractured facial bones.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 3%1.7 h38 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Evaluate and treat problems related to the temperomandibular joint (TMJ).Done more than weekly by most who do it. 3%1.1 h25 min to 2.5 hStays with people
Perform surgery on the mouth and jaws to treat conditions such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and jaw growth problems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 2%3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 hStays with people
Treat problems affecting the oral mucosa, such as mouth ulcers and infections.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 1%25 min13 min to 50 minStays with people

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).