Facelift Q&A

85%

WORTH IT RATING

315 Reviews

Ask a Question

View Before and Afters

Average Facelift Cost: $11,225

Learn about Facelift

1,209 people and 807 doctors are talking about Facelift

Get Free Email Updates

Will Full Face Lift Require General Anesthesia Which May Displace Front Teeth Dental Work?

asked 3 months ago by Shawn in Nashville in Nashville, TN
Latest answer by Adam Bryce Weinfeld, MD
Question viewed 236 times
Tags: anesthesia, front teeth, risk, work

55 y/o F considering full face lift vs lifestyle lift...the lifestyle lift was a consideration because i worry about displacing/destroying fragile dental work involving two front upper teeth if i have general anesthesia...still in research mode, please advise. Thanks. I do understand that full face lift with general anesthesia allows deeper/greater repair.

21 answers to Will Full Face Lift Require General Anesthesia Which May Displace Front Teeth Dental Work?

General anesthesia and facelifts

Depends on the surgeon and their preference. i think tiva/general anesthesia is the way to go for a facelift. some will do it under sedation or local. those that use sedation or local advocate that they can do everything they need to do - but i tend to agree with your comment more can be done with general

Adam Bryce Weinfeld, MD
Austin Plastic Surgeon

www.setonplasticsurgery.com

Damage to dental work during full face lift is remote

The chance of damaging teeth under a general anesthesia is extremely remote. Although it could happen, we have never seen it in our practice of 20 years. It is more important to have the proper comprehensive face/neck lift than it is to worry about the very remote risk of having any dental work damaged. Have a board certified physician anesthesiologist in attendance of your surgery so that the risk of tooth damage is extremely minimal.

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

Facelift Anesthesia

The anesthesia used when performing facelift surgery depends on the physicians preference and the anesthesiologist preference. Facelifts can be performed under local anesthesia, twilight anesthesia, or general anesthesia. Qualified anesthetists are very experienced at dealing with loose teeth and dental work. The surgeon that you choose to perform your facelift should be chosen based upon your comfort level with the surgeon, their credentials, and their results. more

Jacob D. Steiger, MD
Boca Raton Facial Plastic Surgeon

Face lift under IV sedation

We use IV sedation anesthesia, which is a very safe and effective method of anesthesia for facial surgery. IV sedation anesthesia is extremely safe compared to the standard general anesthesia techniques used today. The main advantages of IV sedation anesthesia are: (i) it does not require putting a breathing tube in the throat, (ii) it does not require a breathing machine, (iii) the recovery is much faster, (iv) there is much less "hang-over" from anesthesia, and (v) there is much... more

Sam Naficy, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Damage to Front Teeth with General Anesthesia for Facelift

You are correct to to say that damage to front teeth dental work is possible secondary to the breathing tubes frequently used in delivering general anesthesia. However, in 35 years of doing facial plastic surgery I've never seen this complication. Anesthesia professionals are very aware of this possible problem and take measures to avoid it, especially in patients who have had cosmetic or reconstructive work on their front teeth. I encourage you to share your concern with those who... more

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Will Full Face Lift Require General Anesthesia Which May Displace Front Teeth Dental Work

During general anesthesia care is taken to protect the teeth, that should not worry you.

Julio Garcia, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

lvcosmeticsurgery.com

"Full facelift" can be performed under "twilight" or general anesthesia

"Full facelift" can be performed under sedation or general anesthesia. Very few facial procedures require general anesthesia and facelifts are routinely performed under twilight anesthesia. The advantage of sedation is a faster recovery, lower risk of nausea and no need for a breathing tube. However, most anesthesiologists will be able to protect your dental work. It will help to point out your concerns on the morning of surgery but the risk of damaging teeth/ dental work is low... more

Stephen Weber, MD
Lone Tree Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.lonetreefacial.com

Full facelift does not require general anesthesia.

While some surgeons prefer to do this procedure under general anesthesia, it can certainly be done under local anesthesia with sedation. General anesthesia will require some sort of airway tube. If placed in the mouth, it could affect your upper teeth. If placed nasally, it would not.

Michael Leff, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Full facelift under sedation

Facelifts can be done under sedation or general anesthesia. For a good Facelift, you will have to select a good surgeon, not a marketed, branded procedure. You do not have to go completely to sleep. No matter which technique you choose, make sure that your plastic surgeon is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgey, Inc., not some other Cosmetic Board or Academy. I hope this helps.

J. Jason Wendel, MD
Nashville Plastic Surgeon

www.mc.vanderbilt.edu

Will facelift harm dental work?

You should not worry about this. Quality board certified facial and general plastic surgeons work regularly with quality anesthesiologists. Both realize that you will be undergoing an elective procedure to look better and considerable attention would be paid to avoid tooth injury as a matter of routine. If you wish, as others have stated you can have even deep plane facelifts with local and IV sedation. The bigger question is what procedure is best for you to give you the result you want. If... more

Michael L. Schwartz, MD
West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon

www.palmbeachface.com

Will Full Face Lift Require General Anesthesia Which May Displace Front Teeth Dental Work?

There are ways to do an effective Face Lift under local anesthesia. A Face Lift must meet the following 3 criteria IMHO.: There must be an incision around the front of the ear in order to remove excess skin. The SMAS layer must be dissected, elevated trimmed and re-sutured together not merely lifted by sutrures of threads that will give way. The cheeks, NLF and mid face must be shaped in the proper aesthetic manner using fillers, cheek implants and/or removing... more

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Lifestyle Facelift

Make sure you are using a board certified plastic surgeon, not someone certified by the "Cosmetic Board'. They are far from the same. But to answer your question, any type of lift can be done with a general or a local with sedation type of anesthesia and I seriously doubt any board certified anesthesiologist will harm your teeth. They work with that problem all the time.

Ronald V. DeMars, MD
Portland Plastic Surgeon

www.drdemarsmd.com

Anesthesia for full facelift

You can safely have a full facelift with general anesthesia and without worry for your dental work. You may also have a full facelift with a sedation technique, which is what we favor most. The key to safety and a great result is through selection of a surgeon who you can know and trust. Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd.com

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

General anesthesia and facelift

Experienced anesthesiologists are very skilled at intubating patients without causing any damage to the teeth. I have done a lot of cases under general anesthetic and I can't recall ever seeing a tooth being compromised. Facelift procedures are amenable to a variety of general anesthetic options. Standard intubation with an endotracheal tube is one option, use of an LMA is a second options, and conscious sedation without airway support using IV sedation medications is a third option.... more

Todd C. Miller, MD
Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesiologists are extraordinarily careful with the teeth.

I can not remember if I have ever seen an anesthesiologist chip a tooth for an general anesthesia. While this might be in someone's list of possible complications, I really don't think you need to be overly concerned about this. It is possible to have a facelift under iv sedation and even under local anesthesia. Due to how long facelifts take, most anesthesiologist will be much more comfortable conducting the anesthesia as a general with endotracheal intubation.... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD
Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

General anesthesia and dental work

General anesthesia should not ruin your dental work. The anesthesiologists always ask whether a patient has crowns or dentures and they act accordingly. That said, facelifts are commonly performed under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation (twilight sleep).

Robert L. Kraft, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Facelift Anesthesia

A full facelift will not affect your dental work. Additionally, in the right candidate, a full facelift can be performed under twilight anesthesia / IV anesthesia and does not require general anesthesia. However, you would need an in person consultation and determination of what is best for your specific situation. Good Luck.

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

Anesthesia for facelift

My routine for decades has been intravenous sedation sometimes known as twilight sleep supplemented with local anesthesia. the patient will think they had a general anesthesia as there is absolutely no recollection of the procedure. other people will do it other ways but this is fairly standard. the only thing I do not recommend it is local anesthesia while you are completely awake. I have heard too many horrible stories about it

Sherwood Baxt, MD
New Jersey Plastic Surgeon

Type of anesthesia for full facelift

There are a few options regarding the type of anesthesia that is best for full facelift surgery. In some cases local anesthesia can be used for more limited facelift surgery. IV sedation (without a breathing tube) or general anesthesia are best for longer procedures. With general anesthesia an LMA ("laryngeal mask airway") can be used which involve a tube that stays above the voice box. Another method is to use an endotracheal tube in which a breating tube... more

Thomas A Lamperti, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesia for face lift

Thank you for the question. A full facelift can be performed under local with sedation. The Lifestyle people have lied to you if they say otherwise. They probably also lied to you that the Lifestyle lift is a form of facelift rather than a sham surgery which will have to be redone in 6 months.

Jacob Freiman, MD
Miami Beach Plastic Surgeon

Anaesthesia for facelift surgery

Anaesthesia for facelift surgery: this can be general or iv sedation its the doctors experience that matters most general uses a LMA which is a soft tube just to the back of the throat the depth of the facelift depends on the skill and experience of the surgeon not the anaesthesia