Dental Sedation
- General anesthesia causes you to lose consciousness. General anesthesia is typically used for more significant dental procedures and surgeries such as wisdom teeth extractions and implant placement. On the other hand, local anesthesia is used far more regularly for simple procedures such as fillings, root canals, and simple extractions.
- General anesthesia requires a medical anesthetist. Only qualified medical professionals can put someone under a general anesthetic, whereas a qualified dentist can apply a local anesthetic. If you need a general anesthetic for dental work, you’ll need to wait for an appointment where an anesthetist is available.
- You might feel a bit groggy after general anesthesia. Some people regain consciousness and feel fine after a general anesthetic, but others feel groggy, nauseous, and sore. As a person’s reaction to general anesthesia is unpredictable, you can’t drive after a procedure requiring general anesthesia. However, if you are receiving local anesthesia, it wears off after a couple of hours and has little to no side effects. You can drive, return to work, and feel relatively normal immediately after the procedure.
- Wisdom tooth extractions. Due to the location of wisdom teeth, it can be uncomfortable for some patients to have them extracted under local anesthetic, so they will typically see a general anesthetic dentist for the procedure.
- Complex extractions.If a tooth hasn’t yet erupted or has broken below the gum line, it will require a complex extraction, typically involving a small gum incision. Many dentists will offer general anesthesia for these procedures if there’s a chance the patient will be anxious or in any pain.
- Implant placement. Many patients feel more comfortable having implants placed under general anesthetic, but this procedure can also be carried out under local anesthesia for those who aren’t particularly anxious or nervous.
- Children’s dental. Sometimes, children require complex dental procedures. Adults may be fine with a local anesthetic for these treatments, but at Granite Belt Dental, we do everything we can to prevent children from developing dental anxiety. If we think a procedure may scare or traumatise them, we suggest using a general anesthetic to ensure they don’t develop any fear or nervousness.
- Dental anxiety. Some of our patients have very acute anxieties and fears about dental visits and procedures. More often than not, dental anxiety is formed in childhood and caused by a negative or painful experience. It’s very easy for dental anxiety to develop, but it is difficult to alleviate, so some dentists offer general anesthetic to patients with severe anxiety.
- Come in and get comfortable. Before starting the procedure, we’ll run through the steps again and introduce you to the anesthetist. They’ll be able to answer any of your last-minute questions, and they’ll start preparing you for sedation.
- The anesthetist will deliver the sedative. Whether the general anesthesia is delivered via injection or mask, you’ll drift off into a sleep-like state where you’ll be completely relaxed. You will have total amnesia of the procedure, so you won’t feel or remember anything.
- Your dentist will complete the required work. While the anesthetist monitors your breathing, temperature, and blood pressure, your dentist will perform the procedure.
- You’ll wake up. Once your dentist has finished the procedure, your anesthetist will gradually reverse the medication, slowly waking you from your sleep. You’ll likely feel disoriented and confused when you wake up, but those feelings will soon pass. Some people experience side effects such as nausea, sore throat, aching muscles, shivering, and drowsiness. You may also experience pain in the location of the surgery as the anesthetic wears off, so make sure to discuss pain management solutions with your dentist.
- Your anesthetist may monitor you for a little bit longer. Ultimately, your anesthetist needs to make sure you feel okay and haven’t experienced any unusual adverse reactions to the sedative. They may ask you to stay in the recovery room for a little bit to make sure you’re okay. You won’t be able to drive yourself home, so once the dentist and anesthetist are sure you’re recovering well, they’ll release you to your friend/loved one to drive you home.
- You can go about your day. After the anesthetic wears off, you should be okay to go about your day-to-day activities. You may experience pain in your mouth or jaw from the procedure for a few days afterwards, but this will eventually subside and can be managed with over-the-counter painkillers.
