My dentist recommended sedation for second molar extraction. Please advise.

Question

Hello doctor,

I am getting my second molar extraction tomorrow morning. It has a vertical fracture, and unfortunately, a root canal cannot fix it because it is on the side of the tooth.

I went to the oral surgeon for the evaluation, and he seemed very competent and explained the process and what would be done. He explained that they have the option to sedate me. He explained that most of his patients do it, and honestly, he would do it if he had the choice. To make sure I do not feel any of the pressure, hear all the noises, feel the injections for the Novocain, etc. I am worried about that, and they do it through an IV. I wanted a professional's advice and make sure it was a safe thing to do. I asked if most people who do this choose this option, and he said yes, so I am assuming they do it all the time. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

You have two advantages. First is, an oral surgeon is doing the surgery who is the most competent dentist to perform an extraction.

Secondly, sedation is a painless phenomenon that is better than GA. So do not worry.

Get your tooth extracted and take full precautions.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

As per my knowledge, there are two main differences.

General anesthesia is complete anesthesia, which later has many complications like asphyxia or vomiting. But conscious sedation is safer and has less side-effects.

General anesthesia necessarily requires a lot of precautions like avoiding a high sugar diet, while no such precautions are required in conscious sedation.

However, the challenge of maintaining adequate oxygen is present in both, but in conscious sedation, it is comparatively for less duration.

I can conclude that conscious sedation is safer and best among the two.