Dr. Benjamin W. Johnson, M.D.

Local anesthesia involves the use of numbing medications like lidocaine to provide pain relief during the operation and afterwards as well. During the operation, you can either be awake or lightly sedated. A general anesthetic means that you will be completely asleep and unaware of your surgical experience. Both types of anesthesia can be done very safely and pleasantly, but the recovery time for the local anesthesia is usually much quicker. If you need to drive yourself home, the local anesthesia would be the preferred option.
I hope that helps.

Your high blood pressure should not be a problem as long as you take your usual medications before the surgery. Your anesthesiologist will be watching your blood pressure continually during the procedure, and treating it with fast-acting agents as needed before, during and after the surgery.

Although I cannot speak for the dentist, I am sure that your dentist will do everything possible to minimize any discomfort during the procedure, including pleasant music, sedation (such as anesthesia), etc. Please discuss this with your dentist as soon as possible, so that you and your child can be relaxed and reassured before the day of the procedure.

Usually people in hospice or palliative care are given medication to minimize any pain or anxiety that they might experience. However, it is also important for them to be able to interact with family and staff as fully as possible; so any medications are given conservatively at first, to determine how the patient reacts to them.

Quite often, the patient is given a very fast-acting anesthetic to relax the shoulder muscles enough to allow the shoulder to be guided back into the shoulder socket.

The need for anesthesia will be determined by your dentist, and depends on your level of anxiety and the amount and type of work that needs to be done.