Qualifications
Remember the good ol' days when all you needed to extract a tooth were a few pieces of twine, a glass of brandy, and a high tolerance for pain? ...No? Just us then.
Well, those days are gone. Today, even a boring tooth extraction requires more than a decade of technical expertise. Aspiring oral surgeons need an undergraduate degree in a science-related subject. No humanities. And steer clear of the environmental sciences.
We mean the science-y sciences: chemistry, biology, or maybe physics. With your science degree in hand, you then head to dental school for another four years. Between junior and senior year of dental school, apply for training in oral and maxillofacial surgery. If you want to take a look at the typical application, check out the PASS system.
Stop to breathe for just a sec, and then get right back to work, with a four-year, certificated residency program. If that seems way too easy to you, and you don't want to have a social or family life ever, get a six-year degree in an OMS and M.D. program. After graduation, oral surgeons then need to pass a national exam and apply for licensure in the state you hope to practice in (source).
Easy, right? Hard to believe some people out there choose to do anything else. After all, why enjoy your twenties when you can spend them in school, school, more school, some exams, and even more school?