05/23/2026
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons had the highest attrition rate of any surgical specialty studied. A new Journal of the American College of Surgeons study found that 25.1% of OMS surgeons left active clinical practice within 5 years. Nearly 1 out of every 4.
That was higher than OB/GYN at 23.2% and plastic surgery at 19.3%.
The study analyzed 224,629 surgeons across 19 specialties. Mid-career surgeons, especially 5 to 9 years into practice, were most likely to leave.
This is not just a pipeline problem. It is a retention problem.
Healthcare workers are repricing misery.
Young clinicians increasingly want autonomy, flexibility, fewer administrative headaches, and better quality of life. OMS now sits at the intersection of medicine, dentistry, trauma, sedation, implants, hospital politics, staffing shortages, insurance friction, and rising liability exposure.
Dentistry should pay attention.
The practices that survive the next decade may not be the ones producing the most dentistry. They may be the ones designed to reduce friction.
Better systems. Better scheduling. Better staffing. Less chaos.
If your office only works because everyone is constantly stressed and hustling, your practice may not actually be efficient. It may simply be running on adrenaline.
