Wisdom Teeth Trouble? Talk to a Specialist Surgeon.

Your dentist is central to your oral health, and plenty of straightforward wisdom tooth extractions are handled safely by a general dentist. A specialist may be the right call when complexity, medical history or anaesthetic needs are part of the picture.

To help explain the difference, the Dental Board of Australia notes:

"An oral and maxillofacial surgeon has completed a dental degree, a medical degree and four years of specialist medical and dental training."

"A dentist helps with diagnosing and treating pain in teeth, gums and mouth, which may include removing teeth; identifying problems that need specialist care and referring you to the right practitioner; managing oral infections and diseases; and minor surgery to oral soft tissues or bone, including soft tissue biopsies."

"An oral surgeon can do this as well as pre-prosthetic surgery; and sinus conditions related to oral surgeries."

"Oral and maxillofacial surgeon can do all of this as well as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery; surgery associated with head and neck cancers; surgery for facial trauma; reconstructive surgery; corrective jaw or face surgery; cleft palate surgery; airway and sleep surgery."

"Not all dentists, oral surgeons or oral and maxillofacial surgeons will provide the same range of treatments or procedures. Some may not perform some procedures due to limited recent experience or professional development, and some may have undertaken additional training so that they can provide more types of treatments or procedures."

"Practitioners work together so that patients get the right care from the right practitioner. A dentist, general practitioner or other health professional may refer a patient to an oral surgeon, or an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, depending on the needs of the patient."

See https://www.dentalboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines/Practitioner-resources/What-is-the-difference-between-an-oral-surgeon-and-an-oral-and-maxillofacial-surgeon