oral surgery

What does a specialist in oral surgery do?

The field covers surgical procedures in the mouth that go beyond routine tooth extraction: displaced and impacted teeth, root tip resections, cysts, preprosthetic surgery, bone augmentation, soft tissue procedures, and surgical implantology. This also includes the treatment of infections in the jaw area and collaboration with oral and maxillofacial surgery. Oral surgery is also one of the examination subjects in the Second and Third Sections of the Dental Examination, there combined with oral and maxillofacial surgery. Every dentist may practise oral surgery; the specialist title merely denotes a regulated additional qualification.

How does one become a specialist in oral surgery?

The basis is the postgraduate training regulations of the 17 state dental chambers, which are aligned with the Model Postgraduate Training Regulation of the Federal Dental Chamber in the version of 16 November 2024. At least three years of specialist-specific postgraduate training plus one year of general dental practice are required, making four years in total. Part of this must be completed without interruption at an approved training institution; at the end there is a surgery log and a specialist discussion before the dental chamber. The details differ from state to state: in Baden-Württemberg, for example, two of the three specialist years must be completed without interruption at no more than two institutions, and the qualification should be completed within eight years. Training posts are scarce and often tied to university hospitals, where remuneration is usually lower than in private practice employment.

What does this mean for graduates from EU countries abroad?

Postgraduate training requires the German dental licence (Approbation) and membership of the relevant chamber. Unlike the degree itself, there is no automatic EU recognition of dental postgraduate training under Annex V, Point 5.3.2 of Directive 2005/36/EC, which covers only the basic training as well as orthodontics and oral surgery in specific states. In practice, periods completed abroad are usually applied for individually and assessed by the chamber. There is no legal entitlement to full credit.

Distinction from oral and maxillofacial surgery

An oral and maxillofacial surgeon requires both medical and dental licences. The oral surgeon remains a dentist and operates within the narrower oral cavity.