My 21 year old daughter needs a wisdom tooth extracted. I don’t know if dental sedation will be enough to make this a tolerable situation for her or if we need to have this done with anesthesia. I will be honest that anesthesia terrifies me but I don’t want my daughter in agony. What is the best course of action for her?
Caroline
Dear Caroline,
Though I obviously do not know all the circumstances of your daughter’s particular case, unless there is a highly unusual situation with her wisdom tooth, there should be no reason why she could not just use dental sedation. I recommend oral conscious sedation for her. She will be completely relaxed and is very likely to just sleep through the appointment altogether.
Especially at your daughter’s age, wisdom tooth removal is much easier. The bone is still relatively pliable because there has not been much cementum accumulation on the roots. She should have not problems with this procedure.
It is understandable that you want to avoid anesthesia. There are always additional risks with that. However, I get the feeling you are concerned that your decision not to do anesthesia means that you are putting her through more pain. I want to assure you that is not the case.
In fact, most patients who have gone through oral conscious sedation do not even remember the procedure. Even after the extraction is completed, she will need you to stick around with her. She’ll be loopy and will need someone with her until she is lucid and steady on her feet again.
I can tell you will not mind doing that at all. I just wanted to give yu the heads up so you could plan your day accordingly. You can just plop her on the couch and let her binge watch her favorite shows or just nap away.
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.