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Comment by distances | Hacker News Reader

Is general anesthesia then offered somewhere as an option for wisdom tooth removal? That sounds massively excessive for what usually is just pulling a teeth out.

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Yes very common actually. Getting your wisdom teeth extracted at ~16 is also extremely common - a sort of rite of passage.

> That sounds massively excessive for what usually is just pulling a teeth out.

So with above in mind, the wisdom teeth are typically still inside the jaw's bone at that age so extraction is a full on surgery at that point. Drilling through bone and then the tooth is not for the feint of heart - so that's why it's so common to do general.

It does raise the question. Should wisdom teeth be extracted so early when it's not truly necessary yet?

Personally, having lived abroad now where a large percentage of people around me still have their wisdom teeth - I've seen the pain and problems having wisdom teeth can have and how expensive it is if you do have a problem. Doesn't seem worth not extracting at a younger age when you have "more freedom".

That's how it works here indeed -- you get them pulled out when they are in the way or start causing problems. I didn't have any specific problems with them, mostly just annoying to clean and some were coming out in a bit weird angles.

I got mine out through my 20s and 30s, and they were all quite straightforward. Local anaesthesia, pull the tooth, done in 15 mins. And like the other commenter said, you're told to take some ibuprofen if you have pain afterwards.

I have them in my mouth. Never had a problem.

Of course I haven't gone to a dentist, because I'm sure they'd think they are indeed a problem.

In the US apparently. I'm German and I also found it completely wild when I heard it. Over here they give you barely anything if they fix a cavity and for wisdom teeth you get local anesthetics, and afterwards they tell you to take an ibuprofen and an ice pack when you have some pain. People in the States even told me they got opioids from a dentist.

GA isn't uncommon there for wisdom teeth removal, either, standard insurance just doesn't pay for it so it's reserved for privately insured people.

North-western Europe generally does a lot less for pain management than US and the rest of Europe. It's a big complaint of expats.

I've heard it explained as a cultural remnant "pain belongs with life, suck it up" from protestantism.

Well mother theresa wasn't big in anesthetics as well.

Can confirm re:opioids, the dentist prescribed Vicodin (acetaminophen + hydrocodone) post surgery. It seemed pretty excessive.

It's not "just" pulling a tooth out. Depending on the case, it can become quite serious oral surgery.

Exactly. Depending on the location and "crookedness" of each tooth, the oral surgeon might grind down the inside of the jaw bone for a clean extraction.

Source: I've had three of my four wisdom teeth removed like that just a few weeks ago (mid thirties, local anesthetic). Chewing harder things like bread still hurts a little, otherwise it's fine.

iirc, the wisdom from long ago was getting your wisdom teeth out in a hospital would be covered by medical insurance, but not by the dentist. And general was part of that, but I don't know the timeliness or prevalence of that

some people have very strong (negative) reactions to having teeth pulled, my boss was out of work for days and swelled up like a chipmunk

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