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Training usually starts with a five year first degree in medicine. For this specialty you'll also need a dental degree. Then you can complete either two years of core training (CT1–2) and five years of specialty training (ST3-7), or seven years of specialty training (run through training at ST1–7). Both routes of training will include your royal college exams. Length of training can vary according to your circumstances.

Doctors may work up to 48 hours a week. The working hours may sometimes extend beyond the normal working day to include early mornings, evenings and weekends. You’ll first earn a salary when you start your foundation training after medical school. The basic salary ranges from £29,384 to £34,012. Once you start your specialty training as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon employed by the NHS, you can expect to earn a salary of at least £40,257, which can increase to between £84,559 and £114,003 as a consultant.

You'll need excellent communication skills and be emotionally resilient, have a calm temperament and the ability to work well under pressure. You'll have the capacity to lead multidisciplinary teams and have excellent problem-solving and diagnostic skills. As an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, you'll have: a high degree of manual dexterity; superb hand-eye co-ordination; excellent vision; visuospatial awareness and the physical stamina to cope with the demands of surgery.

There are 383 oral and maxillofacial surgeons working in the NHS in England. In 2020 there were 32 applications for 10 specialty training places. You could specialise or conduct research in areas such as head and neck cancer, cleft lip and palate surgery, trauma and aesthetic facial surgery, teach medical students or postgraduate students in training or get involved in research at universities, the NHS or private sector.