Should you get your wisdom teeth taken out awake or asleep?

Answer 1

Before making the decision about whether or not you should be sedated for the extraction of your third molars (wisdom teeth) you need to answer a few other questions.

First, have you seen an oral surgeon yet? If you have, he or she can tell you whether or not your third molars are impacted. Impaction of third molars is very common, but it does make it more difficult to extract them. The sounds associated with removal of impacted third molars are audible to the doctor and his or her assistants, but they will be much louder to you. If this is something you cannot handle then you should consider sedation.

Second, how do you feel about going to the dentist? If you have problems with dental phobia, sedation is an attractive option. If not sedated you will hear everything (see above), and see everything going on outside of your mouth. This can be traumatic. Then again if you have always felt comfortable in the dental chair you may not need sedation. The most important thing to remember is that extraction of third molars is the most common procedure performed by oral surgeons and it is very unlikely that anything will go wrong.

Third, do you have the money to spend on sedation? To be put "under" conscious sedation can be costly and is rarely covered by insurance. Conscious sedation is the nicest option as you will not be awake or remember the procedure. Do not be fooled however. There are other sedation options. Nitrous oxide works for most people but can cause nausea. Your doctor can prescribe you a sedative in pill form (Valium, Adavan, etc). These can interefere with medications that you may already be taken and you do not want be concerned with that on the day of you extractions.

You should have a doctor that you feel comfortable with reviewing your options. When it comes down to it the most important thing is that you are comfortable with your doctor and are following his or her instructions prior to and after your surgery.

Personal Experience:

It's all based on personal preference. When I had my wisdom teeth extracted, two of them were badly decayed and the pain was unbearable. So, I called around until I could find a dentist that did extractions and had him squeeze me in for an impromptu extraction. I refused to be put under, and he reluctantly agreed after ten-minutes of arguing with me. He injected my gums with Procain and waited until I was drooling out of the side of my mouth before he administered nitrous-oxide (laughing-gas) and before I knew it, my gums were already stitched-up and my extracted-teeth were laying on a bloody-napkin on the tray. Aside from the anesthetic that was injected into my gums, there wasn't any discomfort.

Answer 2

Generally a wisdom tooth extraction is done under Local anaesthesia, in which case you do not go to sleep during the procedure. But there are instances when general anaesthesia may be given and in such cases you wouldn't know what is going on.

Answer 3

Most wisdom teeth are pulled out with local anesthesia. Rare cases of very afraid people has been put asleep.

Answer 4

no