http://www.ehow.com/about_5465416_wisdom-general-vs-local-anesthesia.html
Local Anesthetic
Benefits/Drawbacks
The local anesthesia option will not make you sleepy. So, an individual will be awake to see the wisdom tooth extraction. There will be no pain. However, you may feel pressure as the surgeon makes the extraction. In addition, your surgeon will not require any dietary restrictions.
General Anesthesia
With this option, your surgeon will instruct you not to eat or drink starting the night before the surgery. If you have any anxiety about the surgery or are having more than one wisdom tooth removed, then you may choose the general anesthetic. This method can be inhaled or injected. Once injected, you will be completely unaware of what happens during the extraction.
Drawbacks/Benefits
If you choose the general anesthetic medication, a nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist will administer the medication and monitor your vitals throughout the surgery. In addition to not consuming any drinks or food, there are three other requirements. You will have to wear comfortable clothing, be escorted by someone who will drive you home and can't wear contact lenses or jewelry. There can be complications from this medication. For instance, you may experience vomiting, an allergic reaction, nausea and infections after the procedure.
I got local anesthesia too, and I agree–I never realized that a shot in the roof of my mouth would be so painful
I got all four of mine removed when I was 16. It took me all of two days to recover, with minimal swelling. I guess I’m lucky.
The tooth extraction itself only took about 10-15 min; it was minimally traumatizing because the blindfold kept me from seeing all the machinery they used.
Local anaesthesia alone. This is just like when a dentist numbs your mouth for a filling. This technique is adequate for single tooth extractions where the surgical difficulty is assessed as routine.
Intravenous sedation and local anaesthesia. With this technique, a sedative agent is administered intravenously (by injection into a vein in your arm or the back of your hand). Local anaesthesia always follows. The advantages of this technique are that it makes you feel very relaxed, time passes quickly and you experience no pain. Although you are actually awake throughout the procedure, you will have little or no memory of the procedure afterwards. Intravenous sedation does not carry the risks associated with general anaesthesia and is the best option for the removal of most wisdom teeth.
General anaesthesia. This is where an anaesthetist administers a full (general) anaesthetic, so that you are completely ‘asleep’ throughout the procedure. This option is only available at facilities such as public and private hospitals and other places where fully equipped operating theatre facilities are present. This option is the most appropriate for complicated procedures or where there are specific risk factors which are better managed under general anaesthesia.
Maybe the second thing