What is the sedative like during wisdom toothn extraction

[Allie80]

So I've managed to dodge the dentist for the last 4 years but after an impacted wisdom tooth made an appearance a few weeks ago, I finally gave in and visited the dreaded dentist today.

Not only have I got to have the impacted tooth removed, it turns out I've got to have the another one out along with some bone!

Now, I have already got a real fear of dentists so this was my worst nightmare and the dentist offered me sedation options immediately as I was getting into a bit of a state.

So my next problem is: obviously, i'd like them to just knock me out but i'm worried that it won't work and they'll just paralyse me and I won't be able to tell them it hasn't worked. So I read somewhere that I can get a sedative to relax me but keep me concious. I just really want to know what it's like and if it's worth it or should I just go down the general anaesthetic route?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks

Allie

 

[MattKW]

Which method you choose depends on a few factors:

1. How many teeth need to be taken out?
2. How many do you want out at a time?
3. How difficult will they be to remove?
4. What is your level of dental experience?

e.g. If I have an experienced patient who only needs a 1 or 2 moderately difficult tooth to remove, then they can have the choice of local anaesthetic (LA) with relative analgesia (RA, or nitrous) in my rooms, or an intravenous sedation (IV) with my local oral surgeon and anaesthetist, or a general anaesthetic (GA) with my local oral surgeon and anaesthetist. If they're a young person who has 4 wisdom teeth to be removed, but who's never had much dental treatment, then I will suggest all 4 be removed in one sitting under a GA. And then there's all the variants in-between. The cost increases as the complexity increases. Without the benefit of seeing your X-rays, I'd suggest you either need an IV or a GA. Oral sedation (e.g. temaze, diazepam) is OK with the right patient, but doesn't allow for instant change of dosage that a real IV allows, and I rarely put that in the mix.

 

[Allie80]

Thank you so much for the advice. Have you got any idea what IV sedation actually does/makes you feel like?

 

[honestdoc]

I personally had IV sedation for medical procedures and I was totally out. I worked on people on IV sedation and to some, they don't work well such as constant moving and jerking, PITA and impossible to work on. Think drilling on moving and dodging teeth. How tolerant of pain medications, alcohol, and local anesthetics are you? If it takes a lot to numb you, you may be hard to sedate.

There are very difficult risks involve with sedation. First, you can't have anything to drink or eat usually 6 to 8 hrs before. When you are sedated, everything relaxes and your stomach contents could come up and drown you. Secondly, your heart and breathing could relax too much and the team needs to be ready to resuscitate you. In rare cases, the team may not successfully do that. Your medical history and conditions are so important to discuss.