Dental Anxiety Woodland Hills

How Your Dentist Can Help You Stay Calm

Do you ever feel dental anxiety? Let’s face it: having someone poke around your mouth with dental tools can make even the calmest of patients feel uneasy. That’s why it’s so important to find a dentist—like Dr. Pearl Zadeh, your Woodland Hills dentist—that will help you stay calm. We offer a few different options for dealing with dental anxiety here at the offices of Dr. Pearl Zadeh, making it easy for our patients to sit back and relax! Keep reading to discover answers to common questions about how to stay calm at the dentist.

What is laughing gas?

Laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, is very commonly used across all types of dental offices and dental procedures. The gentle gas helps to subtly relax patients struggling with various types of dental phobias. Nitrous gas is very mild, so mild that it is frequently used at pediatric dental offices. When you visit a boutique style dentist, someone who caters to patients with anxiety like Dr. Pearl Zadeh, they are skilled to titrate the level of the nitrous gas that works best for you. Each patient is unique, we do not believe in a one size fits all model. We will ensure that you feel totally relaxed during your appointment. Once the gas is done being administered, the laid-back feeling will wear off instantly. This means patients can easily get back to their normal routines! No down time at all!!

What is oral anti-anxiety medication?

An oral anxiolytic provides patients with a slightly deeper level of relaxation, making it perfect for patients with increased dental anxiety. This is also great for longer or more invasive procedures. Unlike laughing gas, oral anti-anxiety medication requires patients to have a driver that can take them to and from the appointment. Down time varies depending on the patient. We like to use medication with short half-lives that won’t affect your entire day.

What is IV sedation?

This type of sedation is also known as twilight sleep or conscious sedation. After waking up from IV sedation, most patients ask us when we are going to begin the procedure—and they’re surprised to find out that we’re already finished (doesn’t that sound peaceful, especially for those with a dental phobia?)! IV sedation is used to let patients sleep during their procedures. This type of sedation is more commonly used than the average patient thinks. We can use twilight sleep for a deep cleaning, a few fillings, a single crown, or much longer and more complicated procedures like full mouth rehabilitations. The very best part is there is zero memory of the procedure. No drilling sound, no memories of scary looking instruments being handed back and forth, and no worrying if your jaw will get tired. Patients will require a driver to and from the appointment. There will be down time of one day with sedation cases.

You’ll love showing off your pearly whites thanks to Dr. Pearl Zadeh! Let us help you overcome your fear of the dentist so you never have bad teeth. Call our dental office at (818) 716-6722 to schedule your appointment.