Local or general anesthesia?

Question

i'm about to get 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled out really soon. they are impacted but they're not deep at all. in fact, they're about to come out really soon. the roots haven't fully developed. should local of general make a big difference? i heard that you should go under if the oral surgeon has to dig through your gums to pull them out.

Answer 1

Have you discussed it with your oral surgeon?  If you havent, I would discuss it with him, and take his advice.

If you can do it under local by all means do so, but if he recommends general anesthesia definitly do that.

Answer 2

General, in my opinion, is the best, but it depends on your tolerance... if you want to be conscious or not, and if you are willing to foot a larger bill.  Generally, you are given nitrous oxide which will make your body feel numb and detached... mentally, you will feel fully capable, but if you try to move or speak you will find the results amusing and frustrating.  During this time you will be attached to monitors that measure your blood pressure and heart rate -- no needles, yet.  After about twenty minutes with the "laughing gas" the IV will be administered through your arm.  Even if you have a fear of needles, you will be very calm.  Once the IV is connected you will be out.  The next thing you know you will wake up with gauze in your mouth feeling slightly disoriented.  

Answer 3

If you can afford it you might want to do two of them one month and the other two about a month later. The healing is worse than having them pulled. I had all four pulled without anything but novacaine and I was OK but the dentist was a specialist and gave extra novacaine constantly. Good luck. If they are not impacted, its a piece of cake, they just pop out.

Answer 4

local

Answer 5

well i have only had 1 wisdom tooth pulled so far, it was under a local, it did hurt at the time but the other thing to think about is the sounds, the smells, the time you spend wondering when its going to end, the 4 to 8 shots you will recieve, and the mild tauma.

but at least with a local you can drive yourself home and its cheaper..

Answer 6

i myself opt to be put out every chance i get the choice cuz i am a big fat wussssy! lol i don't like medical proceedures at all. in most cases, yes it is true that if the dr. must dig deep you would want to be put out. however, it does depend on you and what you are able to endure. if you have a high tolerance for pain you may be ok with local but if you are like me and have a low tolerance for pain you may want to be put out. i believe there are three choices for being put out. one is the usual general, phenal benatol and what they call conscience sadation where they give you either valum or an other drug which makes you fall asleep but isn't the same as being put under general. i forget the third means or actualy if there is a 3rd now that i think about it ... anyway, ask your surgeon if you start with a local and the pain is too much if he/she could switch to general. i know that when i was scheduled for a local and i changed my mind i had to go back later that afternoon. gd lk and just weigh the two and decide which is for you.

Answer 7

I only had ONE wisdom tooth (I was just lucky) and it was completely impacted.  I chose to have local anesthesia and I was very pleased with my choice.  Once everything was numb, it only took him five minutes to cut the tooth out and sew everything up.  It was nice not to have that groggy feeling from being put to sleep.  Everyone I know kept telling me to do the general anesthesia so I will admit I was nervous and my heartbeat was a million miles a minute, but there was no pain, just pressure.  The thing you need to decide on is if you are okay with seeing the instruments flash before your face that are being used in your mouth.  Normally I am a big wimp when it comes to anything dental related so I was very proud of myself.  Good luck in your choice!  

Answer 8

When I had mine out I was given a powerful muscle relaxer called Vers-ed.  It doesn't force you unconscious, but it was so relaxing that I fell asleep during the extraction.  If you can take this option, I would highly recommend it.  Make very sure that you do not have to drive yourself home though, you will be completely unable to do so.  Good luck.

Answer 9

No, you do not need general anesthesia to have them out. I had all mine out and had local, and they weren't easy to extract. If they were infected you would want to go on antibiotics for a week or so first, as local will not have an effect in an infected area. But since you don't seem to have that problem I'd say you will be able to get away with local.  

Answer 10

I had four of mine removed yesterday morning. And they were all impacted, roots not deep either. Whether you want to use local or general anesthesia really depends on how you feel about the surgery. If you are terrified by dental work and are really nervous about this procedure, general anesthesia will put you to sleep and you won't even have time to get scared for it. You will fall asleep in less than half a minute and you will wake up in what feels like a minute and everything will be done. If you are not afraid at all, then local anesthesia should be fine. You will be completely conscious and you will see everything the surgeon is doing. But personally, I feel you should do the general anesthesia either way. Guarantees no pain and it just makes the whole procedure a lot easier on you.  

Answer 11

id personally do local bc u said they werent that deep. its be safer to.

i have had 3 wisdom teeth remove on seperate occasions and only done with local.

it never hurt durign the removal except for my last one since it was in jaw bone and had a root that wouldnt numb so the tooth didnt numb.

it doesnt rly matter if they hae to go in the gums its all personal opinions.