Wisdom teeth removal: local anesthetic, sedation, or general anesthesia? which one is better?

DEPENDS: Having no IV sedation is always best because you eliminate a procedure you may not need. You will always have local anesthesia even under IV sedation. Iv sedation is a choice. Discuss it with your surgeon.

Sedation: Sedation has less risk than general anesthesia, but will put you in a state where you can be comfortable during wisdom teeth extraction.

Depends: Local anesthetic is always the safest. However, for healthy people, anesthesia procedures in an oral surgeon's office is statistically very safe. Most surgeons use a deep sedation or general anesthetic technique. In my office, general anesthesia is preferred because i can use medications that are short acting and make you feel good and alert instead of nauseated and sleepy afterwards.

Better? depends: The term better is subjective & "better” will vary based upon the difficulty of the extraction and your personal preferences. Given the choice, most of my patients request the use of only local anesthesia (and perhaps sweet air). Some patients will only be comfortable with IV sedation and for them, that is the best way. General anesthesia is rarely used for extractions. Discuss with your dentist.

Your choice: I can reassure you that all of these are safe. I elected a local anesthetic with no sedation because i wanted to savor and remember this once-in-a-lifetime experience, even though had some moments that were not altogether pleasant. Other folks have other tastes. Autonomy rules -- you are the "decider".

Talk to Dentist: Most teeth extractions can be done under local anesthesia with a cooperative patient. If there are especially impacted teeth then some sedation might be indicated. It is rare that a full general anesthetic would be needed for dental extraction. If you have concerns please contact your dentist and discuss these fears with him. Good luck.