I have a daughter who is nineteen years old. She needs her wisdom teeth extracted but has terrible dental anxiety. My dentist has always had trouble working with her and is suggesting we take her somewhere that can do the procedure with general anesthesia. That scares me. Is there an alternative for her?

Penny

Dear Penny,

Unless there is some highly unusual complication with your daughter’s case, which I doubt, then there will be no need for your daughter to have to do this procedure under general anesthesia.

You mentioned your daughter has always had trouble at the dentist. Many dentists don’t realize the connection between dental anxiety and the inability to stay numb. It causes too many patients distressing dental appointments. The good news is there is a solution.

You need to have her wisdom teeth extracted by a sedation dentist. Specifically, you will want one who offers oral conscious sedation. This is administered by a pill, but is so strong that you will need to drive her to and from her dental appointment as well as stay with her for a few hours until she is lucid and steady on her feet again. With this, she will be so relaxed that she will likely completely sleep through her procedure.

Some more good news for you and her is that she is at the perfect age to have her wisdom teeth removed. The bone is still pliable. Plus, there has not been time for cementum to have accumulated on the roots of the teeth. It should be a fairly easy procedure.

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