<i>I&#x27;m not a medical person but I&#x27;ve seen too many people who had bad side effects from general anesthesia and some who were never the same again.</i><p>From what I&#x27;ve seen and read (including my own experience) wisdom teeth aren&#x27;t taken out under general anesthesia, they&#x27;re taken out under sedation.  Now you might think &quot;what&#x27;s the difference&quot; and to be fair they are on a spectrum, as opposed to it being a binary difference.  But &quot;general anesthesia&quot; tends to be a much more serious scenario, where your heart rate and respiration are strongly affected by the anesthetic and you may need mechanical ventilation, etc. during the procedure.  Sedation  is nowhere near as invasive and you are usually actually conscious during the procedure (or can be awakened easily by the doctor).   It <i>feels</i> like you&#x27;re out the whole time because one of the drugs they use is a hypnotic agent that causes short-term amnesia.