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Wisdom Teeth and Anesthesia

NanaNana Fuzzy Little YetiRegistered User regular
edited April 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
Is getting your wisdom teeth out, without anesthesia really horrible?
I have to get all 4 of my wisdom teeth out, and was thinking of doing it without anesthesia, just with what ever pain killer thing they inject into your gums. My friends, husband and mother think that getting it done with out anesthesia is a very bad idea...but all of them have only had it done with anesthesia.

I was imagining the only part of not being knocked out that would suck, would be the sound of the dentist breaking open my teeth and pulling them out of my gums. ewww...

Getting knocked out to get some teeth pulled seems a little over kill to me, and anesthesia in general seems kind of scary/dangerous. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure my dental insurance doesn't cover anesthesia, so that'll be 300-400 dollars outta my pocket.

Anybody have any experiances getting teeth pulled with out anesthesia?

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Posts

  • geckahngeckahn Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    The only good part of the entire experience of getting your wisdom teeth is post-op when you're totally fucked on laughing gas. Every other aspect is fucking horrible.

    So I probably wouldn't skip it.

    geckahn on
  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I got mine done with anesthesia, but only because the surgeon refused to do it with a local, instead. I would have much rather had a local.

    Thanatos on
  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I would absolutely not suggest going through with that without some kind of anesthetic. D:

    Also, it's really not that dangerous to get. From what I recall, very very few people ever suffer any complications with it (I'm not talking full abdominal surgery or anything, where they knock you out for like 8 hours).

    NightDragon on
  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I would absolutely not suggest going through with that without some kind of anesthetic. D:

    Also, it's really not that dangerous to get. From what I recall, very very few people ever suffer any complications with it (I'm not talking full abdominal surgery or anything, where they knock you out for like 8 hours).
    He's talking about getting it done with a local anesthesia, instead of being knocked out.

    If it's done right, you shouldn't feel any pain.

    Thanatos on
  • FantasmaFantasma Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Anesthesia is very advisable in cases like this, the teeth that will be removed could be attached to the bone, and let me tell you, the extraction hurts like you can't imagine.

    Sedation is very nice, it is like going to sleep and then you wake up dizzy and very calm, and the teeth are gone.

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  • FantasmaFantasma Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Oh, I forgot to tell you my experience:

    I arrived to the dentist office and had several x-rays taken from my jaws, he studied them and then the assistant (who was a specialist in sedation, asked several questions), once in the chair, they connected a sensor to one of my fingers to monitor my heartbeats. To make the sedative work faster, the doctor asked me to start counting in reverse order from 20 to 1.

    Three horn-shaped teeths were removed. I didn't feel anything.

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  • XenoXeno Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Ok, I don't wanna scare you, but I'll tell you.

    My friends brother had to get his tonsils out. So they put him under anesthesia. Well, the family was waiting in the waiting room and the nurse comes in and tells them there were complications with the anesthesia and that he was dieing or was dead, I forget which one. They were later able to revive him.

    Just hearing that scares the shit outta me. Simple fucking procedure and then hearing your child was dead.

    Xeno on
  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had a local done and was awake for the whole procedure. It isn't too bad. All mine were impacted and two of them had to be crushed / cut and taken out in small pieces. If you can stand the noise and the smell of burnt enamel, you'll be fine. If you can't handle multiple needles, you should get knocked out. I had somewhere in the vicinity of 30 injections into the gums over the course of about 45 minutes.

    stigweard on
  • Ant000Ant000 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had to get 6 out, and just used a local. It really wasn't bad at all, the only pain was really in the very back teeth as I could feel it pulling and prying in my jaw bone - it was over really quick though. One of the teeth actually shattered it required so much force to get it out, but the pain was still minor in the scheme of things. I've felt more pain getting a cavity filled. This is just my experience though.


    Edit: Aw man the smell of burnt enamel, I haaaate that so bad.

    Ant000 on
  • NatanekoNataneko Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had my 4 wisdom teeth (tooth? I never know..) taken out with just the local anasthesia. It wasn't that bad, except for that part where they cut one of my tooth that was growing like that :arrow: in stead of up, like a normal teeth. And then, it was only having to listen to the sound of teeth getting crushed. I suggest you take the local anasthesia, unless you have a dentist phobia or something like that. Oh and needle in your gum isn't that bad. the first one you go "eeeeep scary" but then I was all "go shoot me one more time I don't wanna feel anythiing"

    Post-wisdom teeth, I went back home, sleeped, drooled blood all over my pillow and still didnt hurt or nothing. My friend got the full anasthesia and looked like a hamster for a week after that but maybe her dentist just suck.

    Nataneko on
  • ZephosZephos Climbin in yo ski lifts, snatchin your people up. MichiganRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    i had 4 wisdom teeth pulled without general anesthesia.


    they did the right side one visit, then a few weeks later the left side.

    they told me after they numbed me "you wont feel pain, you'll only feel pressure"
    mother fuck did it hurt.

    i got done and the dentist says "the marines could use a guy like you" apparently because i took the pain though.

    the best part is looking into my mouth, yanking out a tooth the dentist says "oh my god......" thats not anything you want to hear from someone digging in your mouth, but apparently one of my teeth had some of the most unique root structure he had ever seen.

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  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Thanatos wrote: »
    I would absolutely not suggest going through with that without some kind of anesthetic. D:

    Also, it's really not that dangerous to get. From what I recall, very very few people ever suffer any complications with it (I'm not talking full abdominal surgery or anything, where they knock you out for like 8 hours).
    He's talking about getting it done with a local anesthesia, instead of being knocked out.

    If it's done right, you shouldn't feel any pain.

    Ah, I misread slightly. I thought he wasn't getting anything at all.

    Blegh - if it were me, I'd still get knocked out. My mother got two of her wisdom teeth out recently with a local, and apparently it hadn't kicked in yet, or they hadn't given her enough...and she was really in a lot of pain.

    Then again, the idea of "mouth pain" and the dentist has always scared the absolute hell out of me, so I'd always opt for getting knocked out. Still, I don't really think that procedure is incredibly dangerous. I've heard of people having complications and dying, but I've always thought that just involved people with health problems to begin with, who end up maybe getting a bit too much knock-out anesthetic...and that result was pretty rare. Right?

    NightDragon on
  • lordswinglordswing Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Fantasma wrote: »
    Oh, I forgot to tell you my experience:

    I arrived to the dentist office and had several x-rays taken from my jaws, he studied them and then the assistant (who was a specialist in sedation, asked several questions), once in the chair, they connected a sensor to one of my fingers to monitor my heartbeats. To make the sedative work faster, the doctor asked me to start counting in reverse order from 20 to 1.

    Three horn-shaped teeths were removed. I didn't feel anything.

    kinda off-topic, but the sensor was probably a pulse oximeter, it monitors your SpO2 levels as well as your pulse, very crucial in anesthesia. i was just excited something i did in my BME class showed up, >.>

    lordswing on
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  • KyanilisKyanilis Bellevue, WARegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I got all four of mine done with local, no being knocked out for me. It wasn't that bad, had one impacted which kind of sucked having them trying to get it out, but all in all it was just weird watching them pull four teeth out of me.

    On the other hand, nothing could compare to the pain I was in when the numbness wore off and the prescription on my pain meds was taking a rediculous amount of time to be filled. The operation was fine though!

    Kyanilis on
  • TiemlerTiemler Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had them knock me out for the procedure, in part because of weird stories people told me about being awake during it. The good thing was, I had almost no pain afterward, and didn't need the vicodin I was prescribed. A couple ibuprofen got me through the rest of the day, and after that I didn't need any meds.

    Tiemler on
  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Yea, I'd suggest regular anesthesia rather than just local. When I got mine pulled, they did knock me right out, but they timed it such that I was coming out as they were just finished the third tooth and were about to finish the 4th. So I remember clearly that last tooth pull, and while there was no pain, you could sure as hell feel the pressure on that one.

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  • geckahngeckahn Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Whether or not they're impacted would probably make a difference in this decision too

    geckahn on
  • Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    If you are getting it done at your local dentist it means it's a very simple and less painful experience, if it's being done at a dental surgery it till be far more painful and dangerous and will probably be safer if you aren't awake during it. As you wont be moving around while the dentists have knives around important nerve endings that effect your entire side of your jaw.

    Blake T on
  • Aaron LeeAaron Lee Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I'm pretty sure I want to be knocked out for when I get my wisdoms pulled, simply for the fact that I want absolutely no awareness of the horrors taking place in my mouth. I've had abdominal surgery before, so I kinda enjoy the ability to instantly go to sleep then wake up with everything fixed.

    Aaron Lee on
  • zilozilo Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled with a local. It was a pretty crappy experience. Not much in the way of pain but watching them drill and dig around in your mouth with pliers while bone dust and blood flies everywhere is no fun.

    zilo on
  • dispatch.odispatch.o Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Meh, I'd be all for anesthesia. Depending on the kind of anesthetic you can:

    go into pre-op
    hear a doctor say "here comes the coctai"
    wake up and wonder when they're going to start

    Yes please.

    I've pulled my own teeth with pliars and a napkin and if for no other reason, I'd rather not hear the sounds in my head ever again.

    dispatch.o on
  • Gabriel_PittGabriel_Pitt (effective against Russian warships) Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    The best answer is: ask your dentist what he recommends. I'd heard all the scary stories about wisdom teeth removal and I wanted to be knocked out. However, my parents were against it, and the dentist was too. There was nothing wrong with the wisdom teeth, aside from the space they were taking up, and in general (at least 12 years ago) it would take you the rest of the day to get back to normal from being put under, whereas just getting a local wouldn't slow you down at all. So I gave in to the pressure and got the local. If there's some other consideration, like you're prone to panic or can't stand having shit going on in your mouth, you might want to be knocked out.

    Gabriel_Pitt on
  • WezoinWezoin Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Alright, I got mine done with anesthesia as well, and if you can get someone to go along with you to drive you home, I'd recommend it.

    I went in, sat in the chair, they gave me an oxygen thing for my nose, and said "you'll feel a little prick in your arm" they stuck a needle in, and the next thing I remember is waking up in another bed with my mom looking at me. Apparently it only took like 15 minutes.

    My dad had it done without anesthesia, but with a local instead. They ran into complications with his teeth and couldn't get one of them out. So after 3 hours of sitting there with his mouth open and a ton of pain (as you can imagine, the local wore out, not that it apparently numbed the jaw bone) he had 3 wisdom teeth gone, and one tooth that had just been crushed and still had to be removed later. When he went to the new person for the last tooth he used anesthesia.

    I'm sure it wouldn't be TOO bad doing it with a local if all goes well, but if you run into problems like that you DONT want to see what they do. (My dad recalls the doctor putting one foot on the back of his seat to give him extra leverage to help pull it out.)

    Wezoin on
  • The CatThe Cat Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2007
    I'm having the same thing done in a couple of months, and I think you're flat-out nuts for wanting to be conscious. Generals carry a degree of mortality risk, but its only small, and definitely small relative to everyday activities like getting into a car and driving somewhere. You won't be saving that much money, anyway. My dentist didn't even suggest a local for all four, and I think he's perfectly right to do that - if you freak out or cough or flinch, he could do some real damage. Obviously it worked for your family, so why discount their experiences?

    The Cat on
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  • SilverWindSilverWind Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had wisdom teeth removed in two steps. For both, I used local anaesthesia (as in, I wasn't put to sleep).

    Three at one time, one at the other. It was really painless and very quick. There's some initial worry since you can feel pressure, you just can't feel pain. My roots weren't deep, and some tugging (and some other tools) took all of them out. I only need stitches for one's incision, I think.

    If you're calm enough, this is a fine option. Also, if your wisdom teeth are recent enough and the roots haven't connected to the bone. Following your dentist's suggestion is usually good enough.

    Good luck with either decision!

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  • NatanekoNataneko Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    About those "the local anasthesia wore off and then I was in lot of pain" why didn't you/the person that did it didn't just ask another shot? O_o I got at least 4 shot in one of my side cause I still feeled like I could *eventually* feel something. Maybe it's just my dentist, but he didnt seem to care to give me more shot if that meant me not freaking out while he pulled my teeth.

    Nataneko on
  • CojonesCojones Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    The Cat wrote: »
    I'm having the same thing done in a couple of months, and I think you're flat-out nuts for wanting to be conscious.

    There's virtually no risk when under a general anaesthetic and the problems arisen from involuntary movement while under a local anaesthetic(coughs and sneezes were mentioned earlier in the thread) are avoided entirely.

    I was put under a general anaesthetic for both the removal of my wisdom teeth and an appendectomy earlier this year and I found it to be quite alright, plus you get the (almost)coolness of having relatively long periods of time pass in the blink of an eye.

    The prospect of doing this without anaesthetic is making my eyes water. Just don't.

    Cojones on
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  • DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2007
    I did it with novicane (or whatever that modern equivalent is), no general, and no laughing gas. It wasn't that bad because I'm not too squeamish about this kind of stuff. Imagine the feeling of someone prying (not pulling) your teeth out, just without pain. You can still feel the weird pressure. Given the amount of blood and various solids I saw come out of my own mouth, I could easily imagine someone fainting if they are uneasy with that.

    Doc on
  • NanaNana Fuzzy Little Yeti Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Thanks for all the feedback, think I might do general now. I know my bottom two teeth are impacted so it might be a bit harder to take them out, and they have grown in quite a bit.

    The thing I didn't like most about general was that everyone I know who has gone through it has been sick for a few days afterwards. (vomiting, fever) And from the stories in here it looks like people who did local wern't sick afterwards, just in pain.

    Also, the burnt enamel smell, were they cauterizing your wounds or something? Why are they going to be putting something that hot in my mouth. O.o

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  • DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2007
    I think the "burnt enamel" is actually the smell of blood.

    Doc on
  • Anarchy Rules!Anarchy Rules! Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Almost everyone I know who's had wisdom teeth pulled has just had local anaesthetics, and they've been fine. My cousin who had a general anaesthetic ahd loads of swelling and soreness, because the the dental surgeons or whoever were more rough than if you were conscious.

    Admitedly all of them were on the NHS, so local anaesthetics were probably cheaper and could be administered by a dentist, rather than having to go into hospital.

    Anarchy Rules! on
  • FireflashFireflash Montreal, QCRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    There's no need for general anasthesia. With local it can be stressful at first because while you don't feel pain, you can feel the pressure the dentist is applying, and you can hear the scraping and craking sounds of your teeth being pulled out of your gums. Other than that its pretty smooth. Mine went very fine and I just took a few advil for a few days just in case. I never actually felt pain.

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  • 3lwap03lwap0 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Fireflash wrote: »
    There's no need for general anasthesia. With local it can be stressful at first because while you don't feel pain, you can feel the pressure the dentist is applying, and you can hear the scraping and craking sounds of your teeth being pulled out of your gums. Other than that its pretty smooth. Mine went very fine and I just took a few advil for a few days just in case. I never actually felt pain.

    Oh man, fuck you. Mine sucked.

    I highly recommend going under. If there are no complications with the extractions, it can take 30-45 mins. Mine took over an hour. My surgeon just couldn't get'em to come out, at all. The nurse described him actually crawling on my chest and pulling to get them out, because they wouldn't budge. I couldn't eat solid food for at least a week, and was testing the limits of advil overdose.

    Edit:
    Nana wrote: »

    Getting knocked out to get some teeth pulled seems a little over kill to me, and anesthesia in general seems kind of scary/dangerous. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure my dental insurance doesn't cover anesthesia, so that'll be 300-400 dollars outta my pocket.

    Here's what I did, and what I highly recommend you do as well. With plain dental, my bill was close to 500$ USD or so. I had a hunch that maybe my medical coverage would pick up the price of the anathesia, and made a few phone calls to them. They adamantly said 'no', they wouldn't despite any logic on my part that it's surgery, and i'm paying those assholes to help out. Anyways, I call my dental insurance and ask'em what the procedure is, and the helpful helpdesk agent actually encouraged me to submit two seperate claims. One for the full surgery to the dental insurance, and a seperate claim to my medical insurance for the anathesia. The agents reasoning was simple: If my medical insurance rejects the claim, my dental is going to pick it up anyways, so basically the worst my medical insurance could say is 'no', and nothing really changes. I took his advice, and the day of surgery I had them submit two claims.

    Three weeks later I got a check for $276 bucks from my surgeon. ;)

    3lwap0 on
  • MedopineMedopine __BANNED USERS regular
    edited April 2007
    I went under to get my wisdom teeth out. I had virtually no swelling afterward and no nausea or vomiting, and it was over super fast. Unless your teeth are in some ridiculously easy position to extract, I'd recommend going under to keep things simple. The nauseous reaction to the anaesthetic greatly differs from person to person, so it'd be hard to tell if you'd have that reaction or not - but it doesn't really matter since you're gonna be out a couple days anyway all hopped up on pain meds.

    Medopine on
  • Unearthly StewUnearthly Stew Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I did two of mine on local. My doctor was an older guy who had probably done it thousands of times before. The other two were under general, because I had to have surgery on my lower jaw anyway, but that's a whole other story.

    Having done both, I can say I'm more of a fan of local to general anesthesia. Given, my general anesthesia was accompanied by a day or two in the hospital recovering, but still. Under local I was done in like 45 minutes and walking away from it.

    Unearthly Stew on
  • CaswynbenCaswynben Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I went under and I can honestly say it was the best hour's sleep of my life.

    Caswynben on
  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I am all for being put down during the whole thing. It's still a pretty bad experience to go through but being awake is just that much worse.

    I had mine done and it was terrifying. First, I was nervous as fuck that I might be talking while under the effect of the laughing gas and say some pretty horrible things. (Furries, porn, and the like) but I remember counting down from 100, I got to 90, and had to rub my eye and.... then sometime later, I woke up on the couch at home watching Geraldo with a mouth full of cotton. Apparently the whole time I was mumbling stuff and giggling. I even bit the nurse who tried to change the cotton out of my mouth twice and they had to carry me to the car. I was 16 at the time and the doctor might have overloaded me with that shit but at least I have the joy of not remembering a thing about it except for the aftermath of changing cotton pieces.

    I would ask around for your dentist to do it though. This is just one of those things you can't really cut corners on to save a few bucks or to make things more convenient. We had to pay a couple hundred dollars out of our own pocket as well as drive about 2 hours to get there but it was really worth it, imo because I healed up fairly quick.

    Lucky Cynic on
  • Ant000Ant000 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Nana wrote: »

    Also, the burnt enamel smell, were they cauterizing your wounds or something? Why are they going to be putting something that hot in my mouth. O.o

    :lol:

    No its from the friction of the drill against your teeth as far as I know, and probably blood mixed in for a nice concoction of bad smells. Its like burnt hair almost -- shit that just wasn't meant to burn!

    Ant000 on
  • poshnialloposhniallo Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I had mine done under local. They were pretty serious - I was sent to a dental university hospital because the normal dentist felt they were too difficult. With the local I felt no pain, saw some shocking/entertaining things (the dentist kept having to change his glasses and facemask because of the fine mist of blood), and would recommend it that way.

    If you're feeling pain during a dental procedure under local tell them tell them tell them. You're not supposed to tough it out, you're supposed to get more needles. Usually only the first needle hurts at all - after that you're too anesthetised to feel them.

    I'd really recommend using local anesthesia (although you should ask your dentist). I've had a bunch of dental and medical procedures, and my basic rule is to get the minimum anesthesia necessary. Generals do carry a risk (it's not just 'going to sleep'), and usually mess you up regardless (vomiting, feeling incredibly tired etc).

    The main reason though, is that I find these things much less traumatic and scary when I have some idea of what's going on. The more anesthesia I have, the more it becomes 'scaryviolentidunnowhatshappening!'

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  • Ant000Ant000 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Ever since I saw this documentary of people becoming half-concious under general anesthetic, fully conscious of the pain they're experiencing, yet completely unable to move or talk to inform the doctors and subsequently becoming scarred for life, has really made me err on the side of caution in regards to general -- despite the extremely small risk with a competent anesthetist.

    Ant000 on
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