Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Do I need laughing gas for wisdom teeth?

winklmir

I don’t want to take laughing gas to get my wisdom teeth pulled. Do I have the option of just getting my mouth numbed?

Reply 1

Parker Tracy

Original post by winklmir

I don’t want to take laughing gas to get my wisdom teeth pulled. Do I have the option of just getting my mouth numbed?

"Laughing gas"? Really? Who is pulling your teeth - The Bash Street Kids? Look - you need to have this discussion with your dentist. If you have a good dentists s/he will be able to advise on what your options are.

I have a private dentist, who advised me I could get "the extractor" (imagine having that as your job title) to pull my teeth, after having my gums numbed, or, I could go to the NHS dental hospital and get the local anaesthetic which involves an injection into your wrist, and feeling "out of it" whilst the procedure occurs. I opted for the latter. I had no pain during the procedure, was totally relaxed, but aware of my teeth being tugged out of me. You also need someone to get you home afterwards, as you will feel zonked out, and end up sleeping out the rest of the day.

In both cases, there will be bleeding from the mouth afterwards, and post-operative pain that can be treated with over the counter pain killers. It is not a nice procedure to go through, but it is worth it in the long run.

good luck! hope it goes well! It is a good excuse to eat ice cream at least...

Reply 2

sumo73

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/wisdom-tooth-removal/what-happens

There's no mention of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) here. I had my wisdom teeth removed five years ago and no laughing gas was used just a general anaesthetic at an NHS hospital. However, before I had those teeth removed I watched some videos on YouTube about wisdom tooth extraction which showed people having laughing gas. Those videos all came from the USA where I believe it's used more.