My daughter is 17 and we want to get her wisdom teeth extracted. When we went to see the dentist he asked if we wanted it done by an oral surgeon with anesthesia or with dental sedation with him in his office. I asked if one is better than the other for her. All he said is that it is cheaper with him. While I get that, I am wondering if I am short changing her by going the cheaper route. At the same time, giving her unnecessary anesthesia makes me nervous because it does have some possible serious complications. Is there any more guidance on this?
Jana
Dear Jana,
I see no reason why your daughter cannot have this procedure done in the dentist’s office simply with oral conscious sedation. Especially at her age, the procedure is fairly simple. This is because there has not been enough time in her life for the cementum to develop and the surrounding bone is still pliable.
My question is why your dentist made this such a difficult decision. When he puts these confusing messages out it makes me wonder if he is uncomfortable doing wisdom tooth extractions. This is something I would find out before agreeing to have him do your daughter’s procedure. There are plenty of skilled dentists who do this procedure often. I’d simply ask him how many wisdom tooth extractions he does every year and whether he’s had any problems with them.
Oral conscious sedation will do a great job for your daughter without the more serious complications that can arise from general anesthesia. It’s likely she will sleep through the procedure and not even remember it. Some things to be aware of is that she will need you to drive her to and from her appointment, as well as stay with her for a few hours after her appointment until she is lucid and stady on her feet. As she is a minor, I am sure you planned to do that anyway. Be aware that not every sedation dentist offers Oral Conscious Sedation. There are different levels of sedation and each dentist is different in how many they offer. You can simply ask if that is an option.
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