Can I get wisdom teeth removed just using nitrous oxide?

[mustlovemustangs]

Hi all,

I have had many fears related to dentists over the years but none compare to this. My four wisdom teeth are all decayed and one has grown diagonally and is destroying the tooth beside it. They all have to be taken out.

I am consulting with an oral surgeon next week, and I am scared out of my mind because I do NOT want to be fully put to sleep during the surgery. NOTHING about having my wisdom teeth removed scares me besides this. I would rather go through all the pain in the world than go to sleep because I have an intense fear of not waking back up (Google is not helping these matters at all.)

Because Google is just stressing me out more (I am already so scared I feel like I am nonstop on the verge of a panic attack, not wanting to eat, convinced I am going to die, etc.,) I wanted to turn here for advice. Is it possible to get my wisdom teeth removed just using nitrous oxide?? I just need a ray of hope and I hope someone here can provide it. I will take any pain that comes my way. I just don't want to go under.

Thank you.

- Kristen

 

[comfortdentist]

I had one patient who I removed her wisdom teeth with IV meperidine and nitrous oxide but that was very rare case everyone gets local anesthesia. Nitrous by itself is totally inadequate.

 

[coolin]

Is IV sedation necessary for wisdom teeth extraction?

Hi, I'm a total noob here and I posted this in the support forum, I didn't realize that this is probably a much better place to ask it. Sorry! I'm 17, and I think that I'm getting all 4 out. I think that at least 1 is impacted, also. They said that they're going to use conscious sedation...

www.dentalfearcentral.org

The link above is a recent question and the general opinion is that 'yes you can'. But to be completely sure you need to speak to your dentist

 

[letsconnect]

I had one patient who I removed her wisdom teeth with IV meperidine and nitrous oxide but that was very rare case everyone gets local anesthesia. Nitrous by itself is totally inadequate.

I think mustlovemustangs is not worried about local anaesthesia, just doesn't want GA ?

 

[mustlovemustangs]

I think mustlovemustangs is not worried about local anaesthesia, just doesn't want GA ?

Yes, that is exactly right - sorry if I was a little foggy on that. Local doesn't bother me in the least. Thank you for that link, coolin, I will check it out now

 

[letsconnect]

In the normal way, you can do it with just local anaesthetic and nitrous, if you're happy with that.

If the oral surgeon you are seeing insists on GA, don't be afraid to seek a second opinion - some people on here have done just that and found an oral surgeon more sympathetic to their needs and preferences. If you wanted to do all 4 wizzies at once, there would be a risk of damage from biting yourself after the removal as the whole bottom jaw and tongue would be numb for quite a while afterwards, so the oral surgeon may prefer not to do them all at once. You could also read up on IV sedation and see if this appeals to you.

Let us know how you get on next week !

 

[comfortdentist]

Local is fine. Some oral surgeons just aren't comfortable with that approach.

 

[FearfulInMA]

I had all 4 of mine out with just local anesthetic (my choice). Plan was to do all 4 at once, but that did not go as planned as 2 were impacted and the oral surgeon could not get the first impacted one out, so she just left the 2nd one for another time (needless to say, I did not return to her for the extraction). That being said, if I felt that I was able to better tolerate the idea of nitrous or IV sedation, I think that the experience would have been far less traumatic for me.

 

[mustlovemustangs]

Thank you all for your comments so far I called the oral surgeon my dentist recommended today and unfortunately they ONLY do general, they will not even discuss other options with me. So I'm going to have to look at my insurance and see what other surgeons are covered and try there. Here's praying