General anesthetic but I have some loose teeth 😬

[Mpark]

Any theatre staff /docs /anesthetists/ nurses here ?
I am having an operation next week with a general anesthetic - the procedure will take around 15 minutes . I have a couple of loose teeth on the bottom row at the front and I’m petrified they will get knocked out during my surgery with the breathing tube :( has this happened to anyone ? Or anyone been in the same situation as me ? X

If you have chance to get the teeth treated pre-op that would be ideal. Otherwise tell the anaesthetist on the day. If it's a procedure amenable to being done under spinal or loco-regional anaesthetic that may be a sensible alternative (avoids putting anything in your mouth). If it can't be done any other way, then the anaesthetist will be as careful as possible, but there is a chance of damage/the tooth coming out. (If it's reassuring, I've looked after people with some pretty gammy teeth over the last nearly 20 yrs...literally flapping in the breeze sometimes...have only ever had 1 come out). Hope it goes smoothly.

Thanks for replying :) they’ve said there’s no other option but to have a general anesthetic - the procedure itself is very quick -10-15 minutes so I’m hoping they don’t have to put a breathing tube in 😬

they may not need to intubate you, but it's pretty unusual to not use any sort of airway device even for quick procedures. They will be as careful as possible though.

I’m going to have a chat with them and beg them not to knock any of my teeth out 🤣 so I’m armed with information what are the reasons I might not need to be intubated ? X

I had to have a short procedure under GA a couple of months ago i wasn't meant to have a tube but ended up having to - i think it was because I've been in 2 previous comas and had to have tracheostomies.
So although you probably won't need a breathing tube for the procedure you might

there are pros and cons to all the different techniques and the decision will be based on the operation and your medical history. Even if intubation isn't necessary though, some sort of 'thing' in the mouth to help maintain airway patency is usually necessary. The anaesthetist will be able to chat to you about it all. More often than not wobbly teeth are fine. Depending on the operation and it's degree of urgency, if the risk of whatever they propose seems unreasonable to you you could always postpone the operation to get the gnashers sorted out first.

What procedure are you having done? You might not necessarily need to be intubated. Happy to answer questions as I work in surgery.

Hi :) I’m having a termination of pregnancy abd I will be 11 weeks. The dr said it should be very quick - around 10-15 minutes x

If you tell them your concerns they look after you.

When I was coming round from spine surgery in 2023 front tooth had crumbled away (it never occurred to me to mention problem with teeth) when I had a ga last year I just mentioned it both at pre-op and to the anaesthetist and it didn't happen again.

so that's a procedure that can definitely be done with spinal anaesthetic rather than GA. The procedure itself doesn't usually require intubation, but the procedure isn't the only thing that determines how someone's airway is managed, and more often than not it's a procedure for which the anaesthetist would put an airway of some sort in (and intubation is always the back up plan in the event of any problems). Anyhoo, they'll be able to talk you through it properly on the day. Hope it goes well.