More and more often the dentist expresses the wish to have the wisdom teeth pulled under general anesthesia.
General anesthesia is a method of putting the patient's brain and body into a state of rest so that pain awareness and the ability to move are suppressed. This makes it easier for the dentist to extract or drill out the wisdom teeth because the patient does not feel any pain, the muscles are relaxed and the mouth can be opened as wide as possible.
The sleeping pills are injected into the bloodstream so that the anesthesia works quickly and inhibits the transmission of pain and the processing of other stimuli.
The operation of the wisdom teeth is accompanied and supervised under general anesthesia by a special anesthetist, an anesthetist. During a difficult wisdom tooth operation, you are also artificially ventilated through a tube.
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As a rule, there are five cases that are an indication for general anesthesia for the extraction of wisdom teeth and that are medically justified.
Learn more about this at: General anesthesia at the dentist
$config[ads_text2] not foundThose who suffer from dental phobia are usually afraid of going to the dentist in early childhood. In addition to psychotherapeutic treatment, general anesthesia is particularly useful for larger operations. Even if you are simply afraid of the treatment itself, you may want to have general anesthesia.
Under general anesthesia, you are put into a state of sleep so that you do not notice the treatment. In normal wisdom tooth surgery, only local anesthesia is normally used. You don't feel any pain, but you can hear the noises of the treatment.
Another method is treatment with laughing gas or some kind of sedation. In these cases one falls into a light sleep or trance state. The treatment is painless and the feelings of fear disappear.
Find out more at: Fear of the dentist
Read on below.
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$config[ads_text3] not foundThe disadvantages overlap to a certain extent with the risks, as complications can also arise with treatment under general anesthesia that are not common with local anesthesia. There are few other disadvantages compared to treatment while awake.
In addition to the risks that can normally occur with a wisdom tooth extraction, there are also risks from the anesthesia and narcotics, especially when treating under general anesthesia. According to statistics, problems can occur in 1 in 10,000 anesthetics.
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Not every person may be treated under general anesthesia without first checking the entire organism. Some patients belong to risk groups who should only be given general anesthesia in exceptional cases.
Read on under: These are the risks of general anesthesia
Every patient is different and every operation is different. Therefore, you cannot give any specific information about the duration. The duration depends on how many teeth have to be extracted and how they are located in the jaw.
If the teeth have already erupted and the crown is completely visible, the tooth can simply be extracted.
If the teeth are still completely in the bone, this must first be drilled. Another problem occurs when the wisdom teeth lay horizontally in the bone and cannot be grasped. Even with erupted teeth, delays can occur if the roots break off and get stuck in the bone.
The duration of the operation varies depending on the experience and skill of the practitioner. During the operation there can always be complications or unforeseeable changes to the plan. For example, in some cases it is necessary to lay several sutures, which also requires additional time.
Since it takes a certain amount of time to induce the anesthesia and to wake the patient up again after the operation, the treatment takes a little longer overall. The shortest surgery takes about 30 minutes if everything goes according to plan. However, if the teeth are displaced as described above, a wisdom tooth operation can take 3 hours.
After the operation you have to stay in the recovery room until you have recovered. After a local anesthetic, you can usually go home straight after the treatment.
Extra costs are incurred for pulling wisdom teeth under general anesthesia. The dentist receives a fixed amount for the extraction from the health insurance company. The treatment around it, namely general anesthesia, must be financed additionally.
The anesthetist has to be there all the time, all anesthetic instruments must be available. Therefore, the cost of the operation under general anesthesia varies depending on the duration of the treatment.
As a guide, one hour of operation time costs around € 200-300. With longer treatment, the price does not increase as much. For each additional hour around 50-70 € are charged. Every dentist calculates a different price, so you shouldn't stick to these numbers, just orient yourself. In the consultation with the doctor, a certain approximation can take place because the dentist knows how long the operation will take.
As a rule, the statutory health insurance does not pay for general anesthesia. The real treatment of removing the wisdom tooth is of course paid for by health insurers. The private health insurance companies more often take over at least some of the treatment under general anesthesia. You have to ask your private insurance company whether this is the case.
In special exceptional cases it can happen that the anesthesia is completely covered by the statutory health insurance. Such cases must be justified as medically necessary.
The terms and conditions of the respective health insurance company are binding. We recommend that you contact the health insurance company directly if you have any questions or are unclear.