My daughter is 19 and has never had surgery before. She needs to have some impacted wisdom teeth removed. I’m terrified of anesthesia and wondered if it would be necessary. Our dentist suggested a local anesthetic would not be enough. Is there something in between that would work? I don’t want to put her in danger but I don’t want her in pain either.
Harry
Dear Harry,
Yes, there is definitely an in-between. Most patients who have wisdom teeth removed, especially at your daughter’s age do just fine with dental sedation, specifically oral conscious sedation. This is a pill your daughter can take before her procedure. It is strong so she will need you to drive her to and from her appointment as well as stay with her for a few hours afterward until she is lucid and steady on her feet.
It would be highly unusual for someone your daughter’s age to need anesthesia for this procedure. Unless there is something unique about your daughter’s case that you haven’t mentioned, her bone where the wisdom teeth are is still pliable, nor has there been time for cementum accumulation on the roots of the teeth.
One way to ensure an extra measure of safety is to use a dentist who is DOCS certified. DOCS stands for Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation. Dentists who have trained with them have extra qualifications in using dental sedation, including knowing life saving measures if something rare takes place. Not that I expect anything like that to be an issue. Dental sedation is very safe. However, the more prepared a care giver is the better for your daughter.
By the way, you are wise to get this taken care of at her age. The longer people wait to deal with impacted wisdom teeth, the more complicated the procedure gets and the higher the risk of complications. Your daughter is the perfect age.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.