---
title: "What Is Oral surgeon? Dental Glossary | Town Center Dental"
description: "An oral surgeon, or oral and maxillofacial surgeon, is a dentist with extra training in surgery of the mouth, jaws and face."
url: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/oral-surgeon
publisher: Town Center Dental
phone: +1-636-273-5866
quote: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment
---

Dental Team and Specialties

# Oral surgeon

An oral surgeon, or oral and maxillofacial surgeon, is a dentist with extra training in surgery of the mouth, jaws and face.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is one of the 12 dental specialties recognized by the ADA's National Commission. It includes the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects involving both the functional and esthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. An oral surgeon is a dentist with extra training in this area.

Common work includes removing [impacted teeth](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/impacted-tooth), complex extractions, and jaw surgery. General dentists perform many [extractions](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/tooth-extraction) too, and may refer a more complex case. This is a title for a specialty. It is not a title for Dr. Jon Copeland or Dr. Stephanie Copeland, who are general dentists.

See [wisdom tooth removal](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/wisdom-tooth-removal) and the [tooth extraction](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/services/tooth-extraction) page for the practice's own description.

[Town Center Dental can helpTooth Extraction](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/services/tooth-extraction)

## Related terms

-   [Tooth extraction](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/tooth-extraction)
-   [Impacted tooth](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/impacted-tooth)
-   [Wisdom tooth removal](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/wisdom-tooth-removal)
-   [General dentist](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/general-dentist)
-   [Surgical extraction](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/surgical-extraction)

## Sources

1.  [ADA National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties: Recognized Dental Specialties](https://ncrdscb.ada.org/recognized-dental-specialties)

## Ready when you are

[Request an appointment](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment)[Call (636) 273-5866](tel:+1-636-273-5866)