The manpower survey of oral surgery in 1974. Part 1 of two parts. 1. Introduction and some general characteristics of oral surgeons.

Questionnaires requesting much data about oral surgeons and their practice of the specialty were mailed to the members of the American Society of Oral Surgeons. A total of 2,251 usable questionnaires were returned. The methods used in the survey and to summarize the data have been described and some general characteristics of the responding oral surgeons have been supplied in this report. Almost 76% (75.8%) of the oral surgeons returned usable questionnaires. Only 2.4% of the respondents were younger than 30 years and 60.5% were in the age range of 30 to 44 years. The average age of all respondents was 43.0 years. Slightly more than 80% participate in private practice either full-time or part-time teaching. Only 5.1% of the respondents aged 65 to 69 had retired. Almost 82% (81.7%) were active members of the Society. More respondents (24.7%) practiced in cities with populations larger than 500,000 and only 4.5% practiced in cities with populations less than 25,000. More than half of the 2,251 respondents (53.8%) practiced in cities with populations less than 150,000, and 44.4% were in cities with populations less than 100,000.