Anesthesia is used for so many other surgeries, why not at the dentist? Friend of mine just had oral surgery for a broken tooth and obviously got novocaine, but he asked if he could be unconscious and they said they didn’t provide that service at their clinic. While drilling or grinding they hit a nerve, which was incredibly painful. Seems like if he flinched at the wrong moment it could make something go horribly wrong.
I understand there is liability in using anesthesia and they don’t use it on every single other type of surgery, but wouldn’t there also be liability if the patient flinches and you drill into the wrong part of their mouth? Even just nitrous seems like it would make the surgery so much easier, safer, and less traumatic for the patient.
Edit: thanks for the responses, I guess I was conflating anesthesia with sedation. My question should have been “why is sedation not required for oral surgery?” Regardless, I learned a lot!
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It’s unnecessary. Dental surgery is generally less invasive than other surgeries and almost always an outpatient procedure.
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