General Anaesthesia

WHAT IS GENERAL ANAESTHESIA (NARCOSIS) AND SEDATION?

General anaesthesia is a type of anaesthesia in which the patient is put into a state of narcosis by administering intravenous drugs and/or knockout gas. Sedation, on the other hand, is anaesthesia in which a state of calmness is achieved by administering intravenous drugs or oral medication to the patient. The most important point here is to adjust the level of sedation. Sedation should be conscious sedation in such a way that the patient’s breathing is not jeopardised, taking into account the application of the treatment in the mouth. Deep sedation may cause more harm than good. Therefore, general anaesthesia is considered much safer than deep sedation. In addition, sedation has no narcotic effect, so patients are also given local anaesthesia to numb the area to be operated on.

IN WHICH TYPE OF PATIENTS IS GENERAL ANAESTHESIA / SEDATION PREFERRED IN DENTISTRY?

– In children with physical disabilities,

– In mentally retarded children,

– Children or adults who need urgent treatment but cannot be contacted,

– Young children with extensive caries, so-called bottle caries or early childhood caries, which cannot be treated by persuasion,

– In cases where medical risks will be reduced if general anaesthesia is performed (such as some systemic disorders),

– Children who need to be treated in a single session for any reason (sitting in a remote place, risk of allergic reaction, etc.).

– adult patients with severe phobia (fear)

– Surgical interventions requiring general anaesthesia (Bone graft, Bone cyst etc.)

– Patients who want many surgical procedures that cannot be performed in a single session with local anaesthesia to be performed under general anaesthesia in a short time (such as 2 hours)

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF DENTAL TREATMENT UNDER GENERAL ANAESTHESIA?

– Performing all procedures in a single session prevents the family and the child from being worn out during the treatment process.

– The risk of injury that may occur as a result of sudden uncontrolled movements of children is eliminated.

– Thanks to the controlled working area, all stages of the treatment can be completed in an ideal way, especially in young children with communication difficulties.

IS THERE ANY PAIN UNDER AND AFTER GENERAL ANAESTHESIA?

You will not feel any pain during the operation. In cases where an extraction is required, local anaesthesia is applied together with general anaesthesia. Only very young children may be disturbed by the feeling of numbness due to local anaesthesia, which they become aware of after the operation, or by the cavity in the area where the tooth extraction is performed.

HOW LONG DO PROCEDURES PERFORMED UNDER GENERAL ANAESTHESIA TAKE? IS IT NECESSARY TO STAY IN HOSPITAL AFTERWARDS?

The duration of the procedure varies depending on the procedures to be performed in the patient’s mouth. It should be remembered here that dental treatment procedures do not start immediately as soon as the patient is taken to the operating theatre. Before and after dental treatment procedures, there is a patient preparation phase that can take about half an hour in total. After the procedure, the patient is kept under observation for about 1 to 2 hours and then discharged.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE GENERAL ANAESTHESIA?

– Before general anaesthesia, it will be important for our patients to fully inform their doctors about their current and previous diseases and the medications they use and to comply with the dose adjustments of the medications they use before surgery in order to regain their health in the safest way during and after anaesthesia.

– Complications related to anaesthesia (general or sedation) are very rare as long as it is performed in expert hands and under appropriate conditions. The most common fear of every anaesthetist is that the patient is full. Because if the patient vomits during full anaesthesia and this vomit passes into the patient’s lungs, it can lead to extremely severe and fatal pneumonia. For this reason, we strongly request our adult patients to be hungry and thirsty (like fasting) for at least 8 hours. In pediatric patients, it is important to pay attention to the fasting and thirst period you are told according to the age of the child.

– In order for the patient to be taken under general anaesthesia, he/she must not be suffering from any infection such as influenza.

– Many families expect dental treatment to be performed under general anaesthesia in order to teach tooth brushing. However, the right thing is to brush your child’s teeth very well from the moment this procedure is decided. Because in this way, although dental caries will not decrease, gingival discomfort will be relieved and there will be no bleeding in your child’s gums during the treatments. It should not be forgotten that bleeding gums are the most important factors that increase the duration of the operation.

– The presence of at least two companions will ensure that your child is not left alone during the registration procedures that need to be done at the entrance and exit of the hospital.

IS GENERAL ANAESTHESIA FOR DENTAL TREATMENT RISKY?

The risks of anaesthesia are closely related to the patient’s general health status, age and the extent of the planned surgery. In the last 20 years, the risks have decreased significantly with anaesthesia performed under the supervision of anaesthesiologists. However, it can never be said that “there is no risk”. For this reason, we take every precaution to ensure that you are operated in the safest way possible. These risks can be minimised by taking your doctors’ warnings into consideration.

Will I feel pain during general anesthesia?

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Is it possible to perform all of my procedures at the same time during general anesthesia?

Since general anesthesia is the process of being put to sleep with the help of various drugs, you are completely asleep and it is not possible to feel any pain.

How many hours before the general anesthesia procedure should I not eat?

Patients to be anesthetized must not be full. While the patient is under anesthesia, the foods and acidic gastric fluid in the full stomach may come back through the esophagus and escape into the windpipe, which is undesirable and may cause life-threatening problems. For this reason, food should not be eaten and water should not be drunk until 6 hours before.

Is there a possibility of waking up during the procedure?

Since a sufficient amount of anesthesia is applied, your anaesthesiologist, who will always be with you during the operation, will not allow such a situation by determining your sleep depth with modern monitoring methods.

How many hours after the operation can breastfeeding mothers continue breastfeeding?

The anesthetic drugs used today are rapidly effective in the body and are rapidly eliminated from the body. The amount of anesthetic substance detected in breast milk after anesthesia is negligible and is far below the levels that can affect the health of the baby. Therefore, experts recommend that mothers continue breastfeeding their babies after anesthesia.