I also had my wisdom teeth out under local. The pain was bearable, but it is a much more violent procedure than I would have guessed. Given that general comes with a non-zero risk of death, I’d still do local again on that one. Plus it’s kind of a trip to watch someone wrench a tooth out of your mouth.
I couldn't find any mortality numbers for local anesthesia, but it would pretty much require an allergic reaction, and I know from past experience I don't have that allergy.
So yes the increased risk for general is very low, but not unmeasurably so.
[0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3147285/ [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5535496/
Me too, but it makes a big difference how far erupted they are. Mine were basically half way out, and were starting to cause problems, so pull them all. The top ones came out with like one yank each, but the bottom ones took a lot of tugging. The dentist said that was pretty normal, top teeth are barely hanging on.
That reason is probably 'he stands to make a lot of money for getting to them before any other dentist'.
I've heard it explained as a cultural remnant "pain belongs with life, suck it up" from protestantism.
> That sounds massively excessive for what usually is just pulling a teeth out.
So with above in mind, the wisdom teeth are typically still inside the jaw's bone at that age so extraction is a full on surgery at that point. Drilling through bone and then the tooth is not for the feint of heart - so that's why it's so common to do general.
It does raise the question. Should wisdom teeth be extracted so early when it's not truly necessary yet?
Personally, having lived abroad now where a large percentage of people around me still have their wisdom teeth - I've seen the pain and problems having wisdom teeth can have and how expensive it is if you do have a problem. Doesn't seem worth not extracting at a younger age when you have "more freedom".
I got mine out through my 20s and 30s, and they were all quite straightforward. Local anaesthesia, pull the tooth, done in 15 mins. And like the other commenter said, you're told to take some ibuprofen if you have pain afterwards.
Of course I haven't gone to a dentist, because I'm sure they'd think they are indeed a problem.
some people have very strong (negative) reactions to having teeth pulled, my boss was out of work for days and swelled up like a chipmunk
Source: I've had three of my four wisdom teeth removed like that just a few weeks ago (mid thirties, local anesthetic). Chewing harder things like bread still hurts a little, otherwise it's fine.