It can depend on how complicated your impaction is. Sometimes they look at you and go, "Yeah I can work that out no issues," other times they'll be like, "Nah fuck that, this is going to be a major surgery." The last thing you want is for them to realise it's the latter and not the former when they're halfway through the procedure 😅

I've heard of that happening, actually; the dentist ended up driving the patient around themselves trying to find an available surgeon to finish the job, and eventually gave up and just dropped them off at the emergency department.

Usually it's not that wild, but I feel safe in assuming that many dentists choose to book a general out of an abundance of caution, 'cause I'm sure that scenario features in their nightmares as much as it does the patient's.

It probably has something to do with licensing and costs for anaesthetists, too, come to think. Most dentists are qualified to give locals but not generals; verrryyy different ballgame, you can imagine.

Oh yeah, and finally, people's jaws are getting smaller. Seriously, though. The smaller the jaws, the more complicated dental surgeries are becoming, so there you go.