General Anesthesia in Dental Diseases
Anesthesia is done in 3 ways:
- sedation
- General anesthesia (Narcosis)
- Regional anesthesia (Local anesthesia)
- Sedation
It is a necessary method to be applied by the anesthesiologist. It is done by applying small doses intermittently through the vascular access (butterfly) opened in the arm with some sleeping pills. The patient is conscious, seems awake, but in a light sleep state. The patient obeys the commands and can do as he is told. This method is generally preferred in adult patients who have fear of the dentist, who have high nausea-gagging reflexes, and in patients where general anesthesia may be risky. It can also be preferred for short procedures in children.
The sedation process is completed by the end of the administration of the drug, the recovery is faster. The patient forgets what he remembers quickly after the procedure, just as he wakes up and forgets his dreams, and does not remember anything.
- General Anesthesia / Narcosis
It should be administered by the anesthesiologist. It is a method initiated by administering the first anesthetic drugs through the vascular access in the arm. The patient is completely anesthetized and connected to the anesthesia device. The reason for this is that the patient is given muscle relaxants and therefore respiratory support is required. Since the patient is in a deep sleep state, he does not see or hear anything. The patient is connected to the breathing device by inserting a nasal or oral breathing tube. The respirator serves to breathe the narcosis gas into the patient in a certain range, volume and mixture. Thus, the patient is fully asleep until the procedure is completed.
- Regional Anesthesia / Local Anesthesia
It is the process of numbing an area with local anesthetic drugs. It is usually the method used by dentists.
An operating room must be in order to perform general anesthesia in an institution. Anesthesia device, respiratory anesthetic gases, other anesthetic drugs and anesthesia equipment must be present in the operating room. In addition, filtered ventilation and a fully sterile environment are required. These are available in our hospital.
In which cases is general anesthesia used? (fear, disability…)
Sedation can be preferred in all patients, especially in disabled children and adults, those with fear of the dentist, those with high nausea and gag reflexes, and sometimes in terms of general comfort.
Who cannot have general anesthesia?
In emergency conditions, everyone can receive general anesthesia, but under normal conditions the situation is a little different. Those with poor general condition, those with uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, and those in the early stages of pregnancy can receive anesthesia under more favorable conditions.
Which treatment/treatments are frequently performed under general anesthesia?
All dental operations can be performed under general anesthesia. The important thing is the need for anesthesia for the patient.
What kind of preparation should the patient make before and after the operation?
Fasting and thirst are required for 8 hours in adult patients and 6 hours in pediatric patients. In addition, we request some tests to control the general condition of the patient and examine the patient before anesthesia. These are tests such as blood values, bleeding values, EKG, lung x-ray and fasting blood sugar. With these, we check if there is an undiagnosed disease in the patient before the procedure.
After the surgery, we keep adult patients under observation for at least 3 hours so that the patient is completely out of the anesthesia. Patients may experience nausea, vomiting, and dizziness after the procedure. These effects are expected to disappear during this follow-up period. In pediatric patients, my post-procedure review is faster and shorter.
How long after anesthesia does the patient wake up?
The patient starts to wake up 10 minutes after the operation, but it may take 3-5 hours to fully recover.
What are the misconceptions about general anesthesia? And what exactly is the sedation method? Are we doing?
General anesthesia is known as narcosis by our people. Narcosis has no side effects! In other words, when the anesthesia is over, the effects of narcosis completely reverse and disappear. After years, it does not cause brain damage, does not leave paralysis, is not addictive. A person can take narcosis multiple times in the same day if necessary (in some cases it is necessary). However, in patients with sensitivity to familial narcosis drugs (asked during the examination), a different drug or method is chosen.
We have a fully equipped operating room in our hospital, and we can perform general anesthesia and sedation under the supervision of a general anesthesiologist.
Undesirable side effects; The development of allergy to one of the drugs used in anesthesia, situations that may develop in case of important organ disease such as undiagnosed heart, lung, kidney (blood sugar imbalance, blood pressure imbalance, heart power failure and rhythm disturbance), being overweight, coagulation problems due to smoking and lung problems. conditions such as lack of capacity, difficult airway due to deformity of the respiratory tract. In order to keep all these undesirable situations under control, anesthesia procedures are performed by an anesthesiologist in our hospital.
Bakirkoy HospitaL
Chief Physician Dt. Selma KURTOGLU
