🏥 ADA-recognized specialty · Free guide

How to get into an oral surgery residency

Surgery of the mouth, jaws and face. At least four years; some programs include an MD. Facts on this page link to the ADA, CODA, ADEA or the program that says them, checked 2026-10-22. Every program sets its own rules, so confirm on each program's page before you apply.

🗺 101 Oral Surgery programs on the map 📮 ADEA PASS Program Finder ↗

1 What the specialty does

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons diagnose and surgically treat diseases, injuries and defects of the hard and soft tissues of the mouth, jaws and face.

The work runs from extractions, implants and anesthesia in the office to trauma, jaw surgery and pathology in the hospital.

2 Program length and degrees

CODA's standards require at least four years of full-time training.

Programs come in two main forms. Four-year programs award a certificate (the University of Illinois Chicago lists 48 months). Integrated programs add a medical degree and run longer: Massachusetts General Hospital and UCLA list 72-month programs that award a certificate and an MD. CODA's standards describe these integrated MD or DO tracks.

Our residency map shows 101 CODA-accredited oral surgery programs, from CODA's list as of 2026-09-30.

3 How you apply

Many programs take applications through ADEA PASS, the American Dental Education Association's centralized application for advanced dental education. ADEA says PASS opens the second Wednesday of May and closes the second Friday of February. Each program sets its own deadline inside that window; in the 2026–27 cycle the first program deadline was July 1, 2026.

PASS asks every applicant for an Institution Evaluation Form (the "dean's letter") and three Professional Evaluation Forms, with room for two more optional ones. All of them go to every program you choose.

The ADEA PASS Program Finder lists the programs that take part in PASS. A program that is not listed there takes applications another way, and its own website explains how.

Some programs fill their positions through the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program (the "Dental Match"), which the ADA describes as the program that matches applicants to postdoctoral programs. Each program's ADEA PASS listing has a "Match Participating" line that says yes or no.

The oral surgery programs we checked on ADEA PASS (UIC, Massachusetts General and UCLA) were all marked as Match participating. Check each program.

4 The ADAT for oral surgery

The ADAT (Advanced Dental Admission Test) is the ADA's admission test for advanced programs. The ADA accepts applications to take it from March 1 to August 31. Whether you need it depends entirely on the program.

2 oral surgery programs in our ADAT requirement guide, read on each program's own page in Oct 2026:

OHSU – Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: not used
University of Puerto Rico – Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: not used

The ADA's own Advanced Dental Admissions Test (ADAT) ADAT Programs 2025 (updated 06/26/2025) lists 2 oral surgery programs under “require the ADAT”: Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center – OMS; McGill – OMS. Some programs' own pages now say something different, so check the program.

5 A D1–D4 timeline

General guidance; dated items (the ADAT window, ADEA PASS) are from the ADA and ADEA.

D1

Spend time in your school's specialty clinics and talk with residents and faculty about what the work is like.
Keep your grades strong from the first semester.

D2

Narrow to one or two fields and find a faculty mentor in each.
Start a research or case project you can finish and present.
Ask your oral surgery faculty when students at your school usually take the CBSE, and plan your study time around it.

D3

Make a list of target programs and note what each one asks for: tests, letters, deadlines, and whether it is in the Match.
If any program wants the ADAT, apply to test early: the ADA takes ADAT applications from March 1 to August 31.
In the spring, ask three faculty members for Professional Evaluation Forms and let your dean's office know you will need an Institution Evaluation Form.
Visit or extern at programs that offer it, and draft your personal statement and CV.
Take the CBSE if your programs ask for it, and spend time on the oral surgery service, including any hospital call students can join.

Summer before D4

Submit ADEA PASS as early as you can after it opens in May; some program deadlines fall in early summer.
If any of your programs take part in the Dental Match, register for it as well.

D4

Interview through the fall and winter.
Follow each program's offer process, or submit your Match rank list in the order you truly prefer.
Finish your board exam and graduation requirements.

6 What makes an application competitive

General guidance, not program rules or statistics. Each program weighs things differently.

Grades and class standing: strong, steady grades from the first semester help most in the most selective fields. If your school grades pass/fail, programs lean more on the dean's evaluation, faculty letters and interviews.
Letters: ask faculty who have watched you work in the clinic or the lab, and ask early. A letter from someone in the field you are applying to carries weight.
Interviews: programs meet you before they rank or offer. Practice answering out loud why this field, why this program, and how you handle a hard case or a mistake.
The CBSE: every oral surgery listing we checked on ADEA PASS names the CBSE, the NBME's Comprehensive Basic Sciences Exam, among its tests. The University of Cincinnati's program says the exam is open to all dental students interested in oral surgery and asks for a competitive score. Check each program.
Exposure: time on an oral surgery service, externships at programs you would rank, and letters from oral surgeons show you know what the training involves.

7 How to prepare

Treat the CBSE like a board exam: plan months of study, not weeks.

Residency Application Prep course: ADEA PASS, letters, the personal statement, interviews and the Match.
INBDE Board Prep course: Prepare for the INBDE, the licensure exam many programs list among their tests.
What's on the ADAT (free outline): Sections, timing and topics from the ADA's candidate guide.
Full-length ADAT simulations: Timed practice tests (Boards Pro).
Clinical trainers: Free tooth ID, radiograph, local anesthesia and treatment-planning drills.
Which residencies require the ADAT: Each program's requirement in its own words.
Dental Mock Interviews ↗: Practice residency interviews out loud.

8 FAQ

How long is an oral surgery residency?

At least four years under CODA's standards. Programs that include an MD run longer; the two we checked list 72 months.

What is the CBSE?

The NBME's Comprehensive Basic Sciences Exam. The oral surgery programs we checked list it among their tests; check each program's page or ADEA PASS listing.

Do oral surgery programs use the Match?

The oral surgery programs we checked on ADEA PASS were Match participants. Check the "Match Participating" line on each listing.

Can I apply while I am still in dental school?

Yes. The ADA lists third- and fourth-year dental students interested in postgraduate training among the people who should take the ADAT, and ADEA PASS opens in May, so dental students can apply in the summer before their final year. Some programs also take practicing dentists.

Sources

Checked 2026-10-22. Program counts and ADAT lists come from our own data, linked above.

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