Hi,
I have to have my wisdom teeth out and have been given the choice to either have it done under local anaesthetic or general. I'm leaning towards local because if there's no need to take a risk (albeit minimal), why do it? I don't imagine that the sight of blood and tools will worry me, but i've heard that they can misjudge the amount of pain killers to give..etc.

Does anyone have any advice or experience in this?
Thanks, appreciated.

Get the local. They will shoot you up with enough to keep it numb for a few hours. Also, get someone to drive you home. (Excessive bleeding, dizziness, etc...):thumbsup:

I had one out not so long back.Had it done under local.Dentist stuck the needle in in about 6 places.
Never felt a thing,and all was well the day after.

i didn't think a GA was an option at most local dental surgeries now?

Alastair

They would only let me have a local at charles clifford a few years ago. It took ages for them to sus out the correct amount of anaesthetic, in the end they used a special needle with three prongs because some peoples nerves run in different places to the wisdon teeth.
Eventualy they got it numb and they were really good, and thats comming from me the biggest scaredy pants in the world.
I'd say go with whatever you feel comfortable with, but I'd also ask them why the gave you the choice of the two... Good luck :thumbsup:

You'll be fine with a local anaesthetic.

When I had a wisdom tooth out they filled me with the stuff. I didn't feel anything around the time of its being extracted, although they had to push so hard to get the thing out I thought they were going to break my nose. It was literally pushed flat against my cheek. (It's funny what noises your face can make under this kind of pressure, but I say this most definitely with the benefit of hindsight!)

I actually took a day or two off work after my tooth was removed, blasted, sawn off, dug out, picked out, wrenched out and once the anaesthetic had worn off, boy did it hurt?

I'm not trying to put you off - honest.

I had mine done under local and i'm the biggest whimp in the world when it comes to dental work! Not only were they removed but they actually had to be cut out too and I was fine, though I was on a soup only diet for a day or so afterwards!

Originally posted by Leigh
Hi,
I have to have my wisdom teeth out and have been given the choice to either have it done under local anaesthetic or general. I'm leaning towards local because if there's no need to take a risk (albeit minimal), why do it? I don't imagine that the sight of blood and tools will worry me, but i've heard that they can misjudge the amount of pain killers to give..etc.

Does anyone have any advice or experience in this?
Thanks, appreciated.

I had mine out 5 years ago when I was 19. I had general anaesthetic in hospital day care. I had all four out at once and I think I would stick with the general (I was not given a choice anyway!)

It was not that painful after but I looked like a bluey/.green hamster for week, and I loved playing with the stiches! By the amount of bruises I had I think it was a good idea I was asleep when they did it.

I suppose it depends on the postion of the wisdom teeth, mine had to come out of cuts at the side of my gums, otherwise they would of damaged my other teeth.

Its not that bad and it's much less painful then having them it!
Good Luck

Hia

It would depend on how many you are having out..

I had 3 of mine out a few weeks ago and I would DEFINATELY say have a GENERAL!! The only pain you have is after the operation and you get a shot of morphine to deal with that - marvelous. They will also give you lots of painkillers to take after the op when ure at hme.
If ure op is in the morning, they will prob let you go home that nite.

There is always a risk with GA, but this is minimal and having ya wisdom teeth out isn't a major operation so ure not out for that long.

I had an upper wisdom taken out under local about 10yrs ago and it was horrendous, you can hear everything and you have to have quite a few injections in the mouth to numb the area.

Make sure you have lots of soft food - soup and mashed potato is good, to eat when u come home. Oh and some mouth wash so wash all the food bits out of the holes!

Good luck with the op. Any discomfort you have from the op, far outweighs painful wisdom teeth.

x

I had all 4 of mine taken out about 10 years ago. I had a general and spent 3 days in hospital! Mind you, they were pretty troublesome teeth. They were all impacted and twice the size of usual wisdom teeth (does that mean I'm twice as wise?). The lower right one had started to come through past the end of my gum, almost down my throat and had become badly infected. I was in agony!

When I woke up I was bruised from under my eyes right down my neck. I also had bruises on my chest where they had had to lean on me to get some leverage! They couldn't get them out in one piece and I had fragments of tooth errupting hrough my gums for the next 6 months or so.

I was told by the surgeon they were the worst he'd ever done! even the docs at Charles Clifford wouldn't do it as they said it was too risky.

I'm glad I had them done though as I'd been in pain for years with all 4 of them.

I had 2 out under local and it was the most horrific thing that I hope ever happens to me. It may not physically hurt as such but it is an awful awful awful experience. The top ones are not so bad but the botom ones are like nothing on earth.
If they are prepaired to but you under then I personally would go for it.

Dentists won't do generals these days.

Had mine out with local and while I can't say that it was the most pleasurable experience I've ever had, it certainly didn't hurt, either during extraction or after.

It is a peculiar sensation ........ much like chomping on a boiled sweet.

Get some ibuprofen in just in case (the best painkiller for dental pain) but I'm sure you'll be fine. :)

Originally posted by Leigh
Hi,
I have to have my wisdom teeth out and have been given the choice to either have it done under local anaesthetic or general. I'm leaning towards local because if there's no need to take a risk (albeit minimal), why do it? I don't imagine that the sight of blood and tools will worry me, but i've heard that they can misjudge the amount of pain killers to give..etc.

Does anyone have any advice or experience in this?
Thanks, appreciated.

Ask for a referral to a pain clinic. They can give you IV sedation which is similar to GA but without the dangers of going completely under as you're techniquely not unconscious. The sedation is really quite pleasant (I speak from experience) and results in complete amnesia for the duration of the process and a fantastic floating feeling!

My words to the dentist, "If you want to do that you're not doing it under local - you're going to have to knock me out!"

Hooray for this thread!

Had ONE lower tooth out 2 weeks ago at the dentist, and it was the WORST THING EVER!!! I would never be awake for it again! I had a "difficult extraction" and had the whole week off work! Nightmare.

Good luck to all wisdom tooth removers of the future!

Originally posted by speenie
Hooray for this thread!

Had ONE lower tooth out 2 weeks ago at the dentist, and it was the WORST THING EVER!!! I would never be awake for it again! I had a "difficult extraction" and had the whole week off work! Nightmare.

Good luck to all wisdom tooth removers of the future!

Well I'm sure you've made them feel a whole lot better with your post ;)

Not meaning to scare anyone, but I lost a friend who went in to have his wisdom teeth removed under general anaesthetic. Admittedly, there was some negligence on the part of the doctor, but still: yes, it's very rare, but it does happen!

I had two lots out under general, wasn't even offered a choice but I would have preferred a local.

There is always a little fear at the back of your mind that you won't wake up but for me the worst thing was that woolly minded feeling you're left with. Think it took over two weeks before I felt mentally alert again

Seem to have the same problem now but that's just age! :rolleyes:

Get it pulled after a skinfull

when i had mine out, i had a local, cant tell you of the experience though cos i fell asleep.

I had two of mine out a couple of years ago and had to have them done under general, because they were both still underneath the gum and were placed awkwardly. The problem with having it done under local is that it can be a lot more painful afterwards . Instead of being able to open your mouth unnaturally wide and whip them out as quickly as possible, they have to pussyfoot around so that they don't distress you. This can lead to the operation being a lot more complicated and intricate than it needs to be and can lead to MUCH more swelling.

My sister had hers out under local and looked like she was hiding golf balls in her mouth. I had so little swelling that hardly anyone noticed.

Thanks for all your help guys. After much deliberation i've decided plump for general. If it was just the 1 tooth i'd go local, but 2.......naah. I know i'd just be thinking 'what the hell is he doin?' and 'i sure hope it's meant to feel like this' etc etc.

Years ago I had three wisdom teeth out under local, during my lunchbreak, and went back to work straight after.

I now work in a hospital, where we have a dental list every Wednesday afternoon. The patients who have generals often end up staying overnight, due to the anaesthetic / vomiting / sudden and immediate pain when waking in recovery. The patients under local walk out within a couple of hours, bleed less, aren't sick and as the local anaesthetic slowly wears off, are given oral painkillers to take over pain control.

If you are under a general, the surgeon can be more brutal because you are asleep and know nothing!:gag:

sigh....................................

Sorry Leigh, but generals make you feel rough and sore, under local you'll just feel sore.

I had mine out a couple of years ago and was told by my dentist that they would only sedate you if the actual teeth were still in the bone so the actual removal would be very traumatic. if they are offering to knock you out - go for it.

I was sedated and it was definately a good choice. i remember nothing about it at all but i was very brused when i came round so they had obviously had a right job pulling out my impacted wisdom teeth.

Afterwards i was given huge antibiotic tablets as a precausion which were a real struggle to take as i could barely open my mouth for a week or so!

Well iam glad i found this wile searching.I been told i got to have a wisdom tooth took out in two weeks has i've snaped half of it off ( i thought it was not alway through) and says it could been my tongue bar that caused it ( she was not happy i had it in as with all the problem's it can cause).I never had no pain with it and now been told it is wise to have it removed.I hear it is painfull to have it took out and now i read half of these replys i think now im going to tell them to keep it in lol.. Pain does not normaly bother me but any mouth pain does.And i not got the option to be knocked out has i can not for medical reasons so got to be the needle.but now i read some of these i think it can stop where it is.

Heya,

I've had all 4 of mine out, 1 under local as it had already come through the gums and the other 3 i was sedated as they hadnt come though.

As Amyvictoria said, removal of wisdom teeth can be very traumatic if still in the bone. I think my dentist had to break the bottom teeth up to remove them, apparently they're the hardest to remove.

Good luck, you'll be fine
:thumbsup:

I had all four done at once in Charles Clifford around 10 years ago and under GA. I left on foot around an hour after I woke up. In the snow, then caught a bus. Not too bad actually.
Sides of my mouth were sore and cracked and the empty sockets aren't fun when eating small food, like rice, otherwise I coped very well.
A couple of paracetamol dealt with any residual pain.
No regrets either, mine had been surfacing over a period of 7 years and two were set rather like the Titanic, half up and half down, years of Bonjela. I had to wean myself off :D

I'm normally a coward with the dentist - and I was teriffied when I was sent to have a Wisdom tooth removed last year. I had a local - wasn't given a choice - and I can honestly say I didn't feel any pain at all. My only regret was that I wanted to keep the tooth and the dentist chucked it away :(

I'd arrange a lift home though, and I wouldn't try to go back to work after. You'll be fine the next day though.

I had all of mine done at the same time under GA as they weren't erupted, ending with 16 stitches round th einside of my mouth.

Having had a number of procedures done under sedation in the last few years I think that in your place I'd discuss that with your dentist. It carries much lower risks than a GA but you don't sit in the chair totally hyped with adrenaline and worry.

If I had to have a tooth out now I think I'd ask to be sedated.

Interesting if slightly scary thread...

I have to have 1 tooth removed from my lower jaw and I've been told it's going to be done under GA. I wasn't given the choice of local. I wasn't really bothered before today but now I'm terrified - Thanks!

Great. Having mine out soon. This thread really reassured me!

Years ago I had three wisdom teeth out under local, during my lunchbreak, and went back to work straight after.

I now work in a hospital, where we have a dental list every Wednesday afternoon. The patients who have generals often end up staying overnight, due to the anaesthetic / vomiting / sudden and immediate pain when waking in recovery. The patients under local walk out within a couple of hours, bleed less, aren't sick and as the local anaesthetic slowly wears off, are given oral painkillers to take over pain control.

If you are under a general, the surgeon can be more brutal because you are asleep and know nothing!:gag:
I had my top two wisdom teeth taken out under local anaesthetic. It was uncomfortable, as the dentist had a bit of struggle, but I felt no pain. I went back to work, only to be sent home a couple of hours later because I was in such horrendous pain once the local wore off, and the oral painkillers did bugger all to reduce the pain.

The bottom ones were impacted and I went into hospital to have them out. They told me they'd be keeping me in overnight, because I'd be having a general anaesthetic. Also, because I was smoker, I was likely to have problems with vomiting, etc.

When I woke up after the general, there was some pain, but the painkillers I was given sorted it out, far more effectively than the ones given to me after the local. I didn't vomit or have any other adverse side-effects from the general anaesthetic.

I was well bruised and swollen - I had ice packs fastened under my chin and up the sides of my face to reduce the swelling, but they'd warned me that this was a possibility, and it caused me very little pain.

Recovery after the general was faster (and less painful) than recovery after the local - perhaps that was because I wasn't traumatised by the sudden onset of agonising pain once the local wore off.

Or possibly it was affected by the skill/professionalism of the person doing the extraction - maybe the surgeon who operated on me under the general anaesthetic didn't think it was appropriate to be brutal, just because I wasn't aware of what was going on?

When I saw the crappy, pathetic little roots on my upper wisdoms, I knew I'd have coped just fine without any anaesthetic!

Sorry Leigh, but generals make you feel rough and sore, under local you'll just feel sore.I disagree strongly! It all depends on the type of general anaesthetic and how your particular body deals with it. I've felt absolutely fantastic after my last two general anaesthetics - peaceful, contented and perfectly happy, albeit a little sleepy! Really nice! :)

I disagree strongly! It all depends on the type of general anaesthetic and how your particular body deals with it. I've felt absolutely fantastic after my last two general anaesthetics - peaceful, contented and perfectly happy, albeit a little sleepy! Really nice! :)

Snap. And that's the point I was trying to make in my rambling post!

I had one out on Wednesday 23rd April and my god the dentist who did it was so fast in whipping my wisdom tooth out that I didnt even realise that it was out.

My filling fell out nearly a year ago, even though the tooth was giving no probs it needed to come out as it had chipped and a filling would not be held in place.

I had 4 injections and the last two were in the top of my mouth near the tooth and it stung a bit but thats all the pain I felt honestly.

Afterwards it bled a little and it was a bit sore for a few days (still is a bit) but not much. I have'nt been taking any tablets for it as I havent had enough pain to take any.

My advice to you is if your going to have 1/2 teeth out then have a local if you are having them all out and they are problem teeth then have a general.

Nowadays they are trained so well to give the correct doseage for people that I dont think you have anything to worry about.

good luck

gizy

I had three out with a local. I was supposed to have all four out, but the last one was too close to a facial nerve.

One option you might ask about is a local anesthetic with nitrous oxide (laughing gas). That's what I had; it made me groggy enough that I wasn't aware of what was going on during the procedure. But, as soon as the NO was turned off, I was alert enough to walk to the car and have a coherent (albeit slurred) conversation with my sister.

It's a nice compromise between a local and a general.

So I've got a 50/50 of it going ok. This is the joys of the internet, you know what you're going to read is probabaly not going to be postive, yet some will be! But you somehow can't resist it!

Anybody know roughly how long the waiting lists are if you have to go to hospital to have them extracted?

Anybody know roughly how long the waiting lists are if you have to go to hospital to have them extracted?

I went to Charles Clifford with a gum infection due to impacted wisdom teeth in December 2004 and I was offered an appointment to have them taken out at the Hallamshire in November 2005.

It may be quicker these days, or it might be different if you're referred by your own dentist.

I had all four of mine out under a local and sedation. They were all impacted and deepy buried in the bone and the bone required a great deal of sectioning and removal and then the teeth required sectioning and extraction - it was a sufficiently interesting case that they had photos taken for some book somewere.

Afterwards I felt fine if a little sore. If you are smart enough not to worry too much when they start going in with a circular saw (and the sedation reallyhelps - he could have used a Black and Decker and I wouldnt really have cared!) then I'd pick a local - no overnight stay, less risk, etc. Despite a lot of quite serious work in there I felt nothing - no pain at all whatsoever.

I would say though to whomever gets this sort of stuff done to get some chunky soups and stuff in beforehand and ask if you can have some of that purple mouthwash to take home to rinse out with.

Dammit missed off the other bit lol - my dentist offered me the option of being done locally by him or having an NHS referral - he was an appt next week and the NHS was 9 months. That was back in 1993 at the Uni health service.

I went to Charles Clifford with a gum infection due to impacted wisdom teeth in December 2004 and I was offered an appointment to have them taken out at the Hallamshire in November 2005.

It may be quicker these days, or it might be different if you're referred by your own dentist.

God thats quite a wait, hopefully the list isnt as long now.

If i do have to wait a year i think ill try and go private.

Right people

Im having my 2 bottom wisdom teeth out in a couple of weeks, these 2 teeth are still some way under the gum,although one is a third of the way through and in having a local anasthetic for it.
Ive already had a local for my top 2 wisdoms taken out and it hurt quite a bit, god nows what this is going to be like?

Has anybody had any experience of this please to help me, id have thought they would have gave me a general with having to cut in to the gums, oh well:(:(:)

I had all four taken out at once at Cliffords, was supposed to be having a general but said they would rather do a local due to the warfarin I was on. Was fine they gave me the injections and gas and air to relax me, never felt a thing, then took me back to the Hallamshire and let me go home after a few hours.

I had two on right side taken out under general at the Northern General Hospital about 5 years ago. I was offered the option of local or general but after they explained that the teeth were growning into my jawbone and would require a fair bit of surgery to remove I thought it wiser to go under.

I was in hospital for about 24 hours, most of it waiting for the surgery. They wheeled me down to pre-op and left me there with this old bloke who was waiting for laser surgery on some cancerous cells on his back. The surgeon came out, looked at my chart, looked at the old blokes, then he swapped our charts. It turns out that one of the nurses had mixed up our charts by mistake. Glad they caught that before they put me under.

When I woke up in post-op a nurse noticed that I was awake and came over. The first thing she said was "were your eyes that red when you came in?". I didn't know what she was going on about until they gave me a mirror. I'd reacted to something during the operation and my eyes had turn blood red. I looked like a demon. I had to spend the next 3 weeks wearing sunglasses in public (in the middle of winter) so as not to scare the little kids. One of the managers at the place I worked at couldn't look at me for the whole time, I just freaked her out :D

Other than that everything went fine.

I'm normally a coward with the dentist - and I was teriffied when I was sent to have a Wisdom tooth removed last year. I had a local - wasn't given a choice - and I can honestly say I didn't feel any pain at all. My only regret was that I wanted to keep the tooth and the dentist chucked it away :(

I'd arrange a lift home though, and I wouldn't try to go back to work after. You'll be fine the next day though.


Why's this old thread come back? Anyway since I wrote that three and a half years ago, I've had to have another one taken out. Different dentist but still under local and still no problems. This time, I did feel a bit of pain but I just told him and he kept pumping more in. Only problem was he gave me that much, I could hardly move my mouth afterwards. I had to write a note asking the receptionist to call a taxi for me! And then a note for the taxi driver as he couldn't understand where I wanted to go. :hihi:

Just a point that's come to mind. When I had the first one done, I was told, rightly or wrongly, that there would be an 8 week wait on the NHS and since I was in pain, opted to go private. This time, I went on Tuesday to see the dentist about the pain and he'd booked me back in to have the tooth out the next day. All done on the NHS for the grand price of about fifty quid. I told the new dentist about what had happened last time, and he said the old dentist was well known for telling people they couldn't be treated on the NHS so he could charge them more for private work. :suspect:

I think it depends on the dentist that does it. I had 4 of mine taken out. And 2 were fine, even though one of them hadnt even grown, so they had to cut my gum open/stiches after. I felt it, but it didnt hurt. It was the noise that went through me most, like a cracking sound.
But with the top 2, I was in agony. I told them repeatedly they hadnt given me enough aneasthetic, (I could feel it dripping onto my tongue!) but they wouldnt listen, and that has to be the worst pain Ive felt. My mouth was in a mess after.
This was at Charles Clifford

i would have sedation not ga or local

I had mine taken out under GA, and would defo do it that way again. I loved my bruises, and my jaw and cheeks swelled so much that i totally looked like desperate dan, which was kinda fun! And coming around afterwards was equally entertaining - i apparently had deep and meaningful conversations with the nurses, and the woozy out-of-body sensation was similar to coming around after fainting, which i also kinda enjoy! Granted I was sick afterwards, and had to stay in hosp, but given the bruising, there is no way on earth I'd have been able to handle it under local. The noise alone must be horrid, never mind any pain considerations!