Risks | General anesthesia at the dentist

Risks

Whether a general anaesthesia is performed in a clinic or at the dentist’s is usually irrelevant in the case of intensive monitoring of the patient. However, people who decide to have a general anaesthetic at the dentist should be aware that this method is relatively safe but not completely free of risks. Especially for people who suffer from heart or lung diseases, general anesthesia should only be performed after weighing all possible alternatives and only if there is a strict medical indication.

One of the most common after-effects of general anesthesia is the occurrence of nausea and vomiting after anesthesia. About one in four patients complain of such complaints after waking up from general anesthesia. In addition, insertion of the tube into the trachea can lead to coughing, hoarseness and difficulty swallowing.

More serious side effects can lead to functional disorders of the cardiovascular system. In addition, ventilation problems may occur during general anesthesia at the dentist. During the actual intubation (insertion of the breathing tube), stomach contents may flow back into the trachea via the esophagus. This danger exists especially for patients in whom intubation is difficult to perform due to a lack of visibility of the upper airways. Furthermore, allergic reactions to the individual drugs administered may occur during general anesthesia at the dentist.

Alternatives to general anesthesia

Especially the performance of a general anesthesia at the dentist should be thoroughly thought through in advance. In most cases, there are alternatives to general anesthesia, which can be avoided and less extensive anesthesia methods can be used.A possible alternative to general anesthesia at the dentist is to perform local anesthesia (local anesthesia). In this method, the patient is given a local anaesthetic in the area of the teeth to be treated.

If the treatment area is in the lower jaw, the entire branch of the lower jaw nerve must be anaesthetised. These methods are completely sufficient for most treatment measures at the dentist. Another alternative to general anesthesia at the dentist is the use of laughing gas. This might also be of interest to you: Which types of anaesthesia are there?