Oral Surgery is a recognized international training course in specialised Dentistry, which requires a minimum length of formation of 3 years in the European Union.

This specialty is defined within Europe under the medical Directive 2001/19/EC (Official Journal of the European Communities L 206, 31.07.2001). It requires 3 years of further University training after a formal qualification in Dentistry ( DDS or DMD).

The Directive 2001/19/EC also distinguishes Oral Surgery from other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised Medicine, such as Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, which requires a minimum length of 5 years for a basic medical training and 4 years for a basic medical and dental training, in the European Union , while OMFS is one of the 9 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association in the U.S.A.