I can sleep throughout my surgery?

Yes! General anesthesia is extremely common during third molar (wisdom teeth) surgeries. These teeth are located deep inside of the oral cavity. They are the last teeth all the way in the back, closest to the throat. You can imagine how uncomfortable it would be to be awake and aware of people working all the way back there. Especially with the natural human gag reflex and the airway being so close. Who wants to be conscious for that?

            General Anesthesia is a very simple procedure. It starts by receiving 50% oxygen and 50% nitrous gases (nitrous oxide) through a plastic hood that sits comfortably over the nose. We all know oxygen is the natural gas that we breathe in everyday to keep us alive. Nitrous is another gas that holds the nickname of laughing gas. As you can imagine, this gas helps to relax the patient and make them feel a little better and less anxious.

            After a few minutes of breathing the nitrous oxide the doctor will use a stretchy rubber band and tie it firmly around the arm a few inches above the elbow. This helps the doctor find the patient’s veins. A small catheter needle with a small rubber tube surrounding it is used to enter the vein of choice. The small rubber tube can then be gently advanced into the vein and the needle removed. This catheter is attached to an IV line that leads to a bag of 0.9% sodium chloride fluids (the same fluids that the human body consists of). The IV line has a port near the catheter attachment end. This allows the doctor access to administer medications, which will be what puts the patient to sleep. The typical medications used are Versed, Fentanyl, and Propofol.

            Once the medications take affect, which is within seconds, the patient is sleeping. Next thing you know you’re waking up asking, “when are we going to get started?” General anesthesia is definitely recommended for third molar surgeries. View the testimonial video on the right of this post to get a feel on the experience!

Why should I have my wisdom teeth removed?

Normally you would think that we would want to keep our naturally developing body structures. So why is it that our dentists recommend us to oral and maxillofacial surgeons to have our wisdom teeth removed?

            As mentioned in the previous blog, evolution has taken its toll throughout the years. Because these teeth have become functionless due to a softer diet and the invention of eating tools, the human body stopped developing these teeth correctly. Not only did the teeth stop developing correctly, but the jaw has also shrunk. This has caused more complications and risks. There is simply not enough room for these teeth anymore.

There are many reasons to have wisdom teeth removed. Many times dentist will find that the third molars grow in on an angle of even horizontally causing damage to the adjacent teeth (sometimes requiring the removal of the affected second molars as well). Sometimes impacted third molars will develop cysts around them, which can grow bigger and eat away the bone. This will damage the bone as well as other structure in it such as nerves and vessels. Because of these reasons, it has become standard practice for the dentistry field to recommend removal.

Why do they call them wisdom teeth, do they make you smarter?

 As the story is told, our ancestor’s diet required the need for more chewing power than what is necessary today. Think about it, their diet consisted of harder and tougher foods such as leaves, roots, nuts, meats etc.. Not only that, but they didn’t have the tools and equipment that we have in todays day in age. No forks, knives, food processors…It’s a no brainer that the human body needed all the teeth they could get to get the job done.

Time went on and humans became smarter by implementing new and simpler ways to chew their food. Over the years evolution took its toll and third molar teeth became functionless. So why are they

called wisdom teeth if the need for them has decreased? Humans got smarter and wisdom teeth stopped developing correctly. Clearly they weren’t called wisdom teeth because they make you smarter. The name actually came from the time at which wisdom teeth develop. These teeth are the last teeth in the human mouth to develop and erupt, which in theory is at a “wiser” stage in human life. Therefore third molars were named wisdom teeth. Daily Mail and Science Line are two great sources with much more detailed information. Check out the video posted below for an interesting insight on the whole idea!
Also, listen to this audio clip to learn more about wisdom teeth!