Being forced to have General anesthia for wisdom tooth..

[Suzi7979]

Hi, I am being forced to have wisdom tooth surgery under general anesthesia by the surgeon. Can I refuse and opt for local instead?

I had mine out under local anaesthetic because I was pregnant and the removal itself was fine. Was an upper wisdom tooth.

I’m going to ignore the fact that he ruptured my sinuses and i ended up with 14 stitches in my upper jaw to try to stop the Liquid contents of my mouth tuning down my nose and the contents of my sinuses draining into my mouth! An oral antral fistula is the name I believe. Wouldn’t wish it on anyone!

Also got the 14 stitches under a local anaesthetic.

It wasn’t a good month for me 😂😂😂

I had two (unerupted) wisdom teeth out under general and given the state of my face and neck afterwards I'm bloody glad I was unconscious at the time. They had to drill into my jaw.

I had one erupted one out under local, which was thankfully a breeze and came out very easily.

Listen to the experts who know what they're doing.

You are not being forced. You're being advised for a reason (I work
In oral surgery).

I had two impacted lower jaw wisdom teeth removed under local, dentist was confident to do it but although i felt no pain it wasn't a pleasant experience as they had to cut gum and break root up and it felt like i was being peeled out of the chair.
A couple of years later i had a top one removed, but that was out before i even realised it.

Okay, so if they were previously happy to do it under local, that changes things a bit. If the switch was suggested before they even looked, that suggests it's not that anything's changed about the tooth, but that it's a question of covid precautions changing things. Dentistry is obviously a bit difficult as doing things with the mouth can generate aerosols and so on, so it may be that there's a move towards general for that reason - especially if that then means it's the local hospital's problem, not the dentist's.

It might be worth investigating whether other dentists locally are willing to do it under local. You could ask yours whether general is now their policy for all wisdom tooth extractions, and whether that's a policy all dentists are following or just some.

They were happy to do it local then suddenly changed when I went in. The tooth is still the same. If they refuse local then I will look for another surgeon and second option.

I had an impacted lower wisdom tooth extracted some years ago with local. They had to cut the tooth in parts, but I was okay.

I had a tooth ( next to wisdom tooth ) taken out under local it was terrible it took about 40 mins , about 2 years later a developed a abscess on my erupting wisdom tooth so went to a different dentist , after a course of antibiotics the x-rays showed several bits of the other tooth were still in places and were probably the cause of the abscess.
I also had the tooth nerve wrapped around the jaw nerve , I was in sodding agony !

When I went to make the appointment to have it removed I asked to speak to the dentist and he said due to the complications there was absolutely no way he was going to remove it at his local surgery he would get hes partner to treat me at hospital as I would need GA I had to go the next day . They ended up taking both lower jaw wisdom teeth out and all the bits of the other tooth it took about half a hr .
Recovery was quick , I slept like a log for about 6 hrs when I got home.

I would say that unless your medical condition that means GA could be risky for you then have it done under GA

I had all 4 of mine out under local, I wish they'd offered me a general. It was very unpleasant.

I have a very high pain threshold and have had root canal (twice) with no anaesthetic, but for wisdom tooth extraction I had general anaesthetic.

When I came round I had bruises on my chest where they had used leverage, it is very difficult to remove some wisdom teeth.

I would have GA if it was recommended.

But why don't you want the G.A? Is the recovery time a problem?

Blimey when I needed my wisdom teeth removed I told them unless they gave me a GA it wasn’t happening 🤦‍♂️😂

Look for another dentist then OP. No patient is forced to have a general anaesthetic much like no dentist is forced to remove a tooth under local if they don't think it is suitable. You had a different tooth removed previously. It will be interesting what the other dentists say when they look at the X-rays and examine.

You are the patient, equally they spent 6+ years at dental school.

Good luck.

Would they consider doing it under sedation? I had wisdom tooth out that was lying horizontally and was given sedation for it. That was a private clinic though.

I had a wisdom tooth out under local. Well, the dentist tried. She ended up bracing both feet against the chair to try to get purchase on the thing. I'd recommend general if that's what they're suggesting.

Oh god, I’m terrified of going under but if it’s impacted go for the general. I had one removed by local and it was beyond brutal and extremely traumatic. I ended up with lots of damage and swelling that I don’t think would have happened if I’d been asleep, and it took so long the anaesthetic started to wear off. I had to be sedated to get the other ones out.

The reason I don't want the GA is because of my medical condition. I have had a recent relapse and any little stress to my body will make my situation worse.

Both appointments have been at the hospital but I will try to explain my reasons, if not will seek another surgeon or hospital trust.

I had all my impacted wisdom teeth out in one go under GA. really straightforward, day of feeling a bit sorry for myself, got a week off work for it. All done and dusted. Just do it I'd say.

I had all four wisdom teeth out under GA in January and I’m so glad I was completely out for it. The surgeon had to take part of my jaw bone with the tooth and she said that it would have been carnage under local. Even with the GA I felt very bruised and roughed up during the recovery time so I’m so glad I didn’t have that and the trauma of the surgery to deal with because I couldn’t remember a thing. And I was given jelly afterwards which was great!

An anetheatist (wrong spelling I know but you know what I mean!) will take a full medical history and won’t do a GA if it is deemed to high risk for the procedure

I had 2,impacted wisdom teeth removed in December under twilight sedation I was offered that or a GA. I don't remember a thing. It was done at the hospital. Could that be an option?

Tell them you have nobody to stay with you once you leave the hospital, it has to be local. I was refused a general for removal of wisdom tooth as my husband had to take care of our children and they said I needed a “dedicated person”

I think a local anaesthetic under these circumstances will probably cause more stress on your body than general anaesthesia..

Yes I second what Sirzy said, and assuming you might have been referred? I had a wisdom tooth out, I was not put under GA, so it will depend on the circumstances.

Speak to your GP or specialist about the options, they’ll know more about your situation and the potential risks of GA with hyperthyroidism. Personally I wasn’t aware that it was contraindicated?