I took the local anesthetic for wisdom teeth... it was a real strange thing to have my jaw jerked about and to hear the crunching of the teeth as they broke.

For wisdom teeth they often offer general anesthesia, at least where I am in the US they do. I passed on it and they gave local instead with novocaine in the gums. 

I felt most of it which sucked a lot, but still preferable to getting knocked out.

If I'm dying, obviously go ahead and knock me out, do what you gotta do:
https://stacker.news/items/454525?commentId=454660

OneOneSeven

But the anesthesia used in dentistry is local, not general? General anesthesia is a completely different ball game.