I’ve been to 3 dentists in the last week, and not yet found one who can put me under sedation for wisdom tooth extraction.
There are apparently options to do it under general anesthesia at some hospitals, which, as reported in some of the older threads requires 1 or 2 nights in a hospital. What I’m loooking for (according to Dentist #2) is not genral anesthesia, but apparently “sedation,” which also puts you to sleep but without the need for an overnight stay (because I guess your bodily functions like breathing etc. remain relatively self-functioning under sedation relative to general anesthesia).
Talked to 2 dentists at Adventist Hospital in Taipei, another at a reputable clinic, and to the front desk staff at the dental department of Changeng Hospital Taipei. None of them knew where specifically I could get this in Taipei, just told me to look around online etc. The staff at Changeng suggested that their hospital in Linkou might be able to, but I don’t think she was confident about it, and I would prefer to stay in Taipei if at all possible.
I know most people don’t need sedation, and I did my first two wisdom teeth without it. It’s that dreadful experience and the warning from Dentist #1 that the curved roots on my wisdeom tooth would make extraction “very difficult” that is driving me to find a better option this time.
Starting a new thread as the most closely related threads are a bit dated, and don’t distinguish between sedation and general anesthesia.
No, neither one. As I explained in my original post, what I need is sedation. It’s similar to general anesthesia in that you sleep, but your bodily functions remain relatively independent, and does not require overnight hospitalization. It’s what you might opt for if you were to undergo a colonoscopy, for example, or some other semi-invasive examination.
Some kind person on this forum did a Google search for me in Chinese and found 2 clinics that offer sedation, in Zhongshan and Shilin. Longwood also located one in Zhongzheng. Got a quote for about 22k for 2 hours of sedation. Will be happy to provide details later if there is interest.
That’s pretty pricy! I thought wisdom tooth removal itself was covered by NHI (I paid NT$150 to have one removed before under NHI, and NT$2500 another time to have one removed without NHI).
Yes, the extraction is covered. Sedation is not. I think NHI might cover some hospital-related expenses if you have a medical condition that would justify the need for general anesthesia, but not sure about that, and general anesthesia would requrie one or two nights in hospital.
