Drugs used for moderate sedation such as Lorazipan and Triazolam both have lactose which may be animal derived. As noted by others, anesthetics use eggs. I think it is great that you are looking into a Vegan option for your anesthetics. However, as the website below talks about, as a vegans try to avoid animal products "'as far as practical and possible.'" I think you can safely say that it is not practically possible to take care of you teeth and avoid any animal products.

https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-health/medicines

If you are a vegan and you are about to be challenged to count backwards from 10, you need to be aware. Propofol, is the usual drug of choice to create an unconscious state for oral surgery. It is derived with emulsified egg phospholipids. Regardless of how far these are from being recognizable, the fact is that can not be made without starting with eggs.

That requirement puts a heavy burden on the dentist to use "second line " or less effective less used protocols and medications. Perhaps you could compromise. Or find a dentist that is completely Vegan in everything that he/she does and is therefore more familiar with your request and its ramifications.

I do not think there are any "vegan" anesthetics . That being said you need to have a frank discussion with your oral surgeon if you need to be sedated. If you can tolerate the procedure and what is going to be done then local anesthetics may be your solution. If removal of the teeth is going to be very involved you may have to consider the sedation because this will make it easier on both you and the oral surgeon.

The biggest question for you and your oral surgeon to answer is: do you need a general anesthetic (i.e. do you truly need to be knocked out for this procedure). If the answer is no, then local anesthetics i.e. tetracaine, benzocaine) can be given with little to no side effects. Some nitrous oxide may be used, I don't beleieve there are any aninal components in the N20 pipeline!

It's hard to label off anesthetics as "vegan/vegetarian" or not - Most of the preservatives are synthetic and thus nothing is really "natural."

Coming to general anesthetics, propofol does contain an egg component (egg white albumin) which may fall outside of the acceptable definitions for some vegetarians/vegans (i.e. Jains). If you need a general anesthetic, propofol is usually given to induce anesthesia.

You do not have to be unconscious for any surgery. However, depending on the involvement of the procedure the oral surgeon may feel he/she may work more efficiently with you being sedated. In regards to the vegan approach, "good luck". In this country it is very hard to find a vegan anesthetic. Coca leaves are frequently used in parts of South America and Mexico. You may have to be open to traditional medicine!

One initial comment that can be made is that most competent dentists/oral surgeons would refuse to treat a patient demanding "herbal", "unconventional", or other "potions" for their treatment--especially in lieu of "approved" medications. Many patients, including youthful 18 year old vegans trying to be faithful to their beliefs, can embark in dangerous searches for things which they may not suspect can harm them. However, while to the best of my knowledge there are no legitimate "vegan" anesthetics, search hard enough and you will likely find some foolish concoction that will be offered--by an equally foolish "clinician". Standard anesthetics are entirely safe, thoroughly researched and well tolerated. Even in the most extreme "vegan", it is a stretch to make an argument that somehow or somewhere an "animal" was consumed, processed, or abused in their manufacture. For surgical cases, doing them on an awake patient a competent provider feels needs to be sleeping ("unconscious" is a poor term) is a relative contraindication, since many such patients do not appreciate they can become uncomfortable, restless, frightened, and become a safety issue for patient and staff. It's just that simple. THen, whether you need to be "unconscious" is a joint decision between a provider and patient. ANYONE casually commenting that you "do" or "don't" need to be "unconscious" for ANY surgery is meddling where they don't belong--with an unknown patient and no knowledge of the technical aspects involved for that patient. Such recommendations should be deferred to the dental specialists who can--oral surgeons. And while you should question recommendations of your doctor you should heed them as well, as all surgery (especially wisdom tooth removal!) isn't always what you expect(ed). Many "skeptics" of sedation, etc, only find that out afterward--following a bad experience. But you do have a choice of type and depth of anesthesia for example what can be "Deep Sedation" or General Anesthesia. Talk it over with an oral surgeon who manages such cases on a daily basis.

You don't have to be unconscious for the surgery. You should be able to find a dentist that will perform the surgery while you are conscious. But, I do not think you will be able to find a dentist that can guarantee that the local anesthetic that they feel comfortable using will be vegan/vegetarian. You should try to contact a compound pharmacy and ask them about options for vegan anesthetics. Although, I would not to inject you with an anesthetic I was unfamiliar with. There is far too much risk and liability for us to use non-standard anesthetics.

That sounds a bit confusing. I am not sure if we ever learned or discussed the subject to the point of breaking it down into such categories. I am positive there are some pharmacists that may be able to answer to this question much better. Going with sedation though is much more comfortable option.