What to expect from our Woodland Hills dental practice!

Many new patients are curious what to expect when coming to a dental office for the first time. We would like to shine a light on what you can expect when you visit the office of Dr. Pearl Zadeh. We understand starting a new relationship at a dental office is not easy. You have taken the first step and made your dental appointment, and we applaud you for that. Now let us do our part to take the next step by letting you know what to expect at your first visit. Anything we can do to make the entire process a little bit smoother and simpler, we are here to do that for you. Take a deep breath and relax. You will soon find that our genuine objective in dentistry is to demystify and break down the old walls that dentistry must be scary. In 2020, we can create our new modern standards of what dentistry is today. Staying transparent, being honest, maintaining a high ethical code, putting patients first, and always having empathy are all paramount for Dr. Pearl Zadeh and her staff.

When you arrive for your first appointment, we will ask you to fill out detailed questions pertaining to your medical and dental history. Unfortunately, Western medicine tends to separate the head from the rest of the body. The two, for obvious reasons, are not two separate entities. Dr. Pearl feels that many dental and systemic conditions may be connected, and we need to look at the bigger picture of the body as a whole. Even though we are a dental office and cannot make diagnoses outside of the scope of dentistry, Dr. Pearl Zadeh takes a collaborative approach. She works closely with many excellent colleagues in the medical field, which allows her to refer patients to specialists that she will work closely alongside if anything further needs to be evaluated.

Each examination starts with an in-depth dialogue, where Dr. Pearl listens to the patient’s chief concerns and finds out what brought them to the office. Truly listening to a patient and hearing his or her needs is an art that is lost in today’s medical community. Next, Dr. Zadeh will perform an oral soft tissue exam of head and neck for oral cancers, followed by a clinical exam going tooth by tooth. Next, she’ll take measurements of the gum pockets for periodontal charting, before evaluating the joint of the jaw, known as the TMJ.

Next, Dr. Pearl Zadeh utilizes cutting-edge technology for all types of imaging. That’s right—did you know that there are many different types of dental imaging? We begin with intraoral photographs. These are pictures taken of the inside of your mouth using a long skinny wand that has a camera on the tip of it. This camera takes pictures of your teeth, gums, tongue, and throat—all on a super magnified macro setting. This shows up enlarged on a screen in front of the dentist and patient. We can see decay, plaque buildup, and fractured teeth among other issues.

Dr. Pearl Zadeh will then use a transillumination device called Cam X that utilizes florescence technology to detect decay. There is no radiation with this device. There have been many advances in dentistry that have allowed for new ways to visualize enamel and dentin when a cavity is in the initial stages with the use of a traditional x-ray—something that was not possible before. This is a very exciting time to be a dentist! By allowing for full transparency with our patients, this has made it easier to create a more solid bond between dentist and patient. We want our patients to visualize the cavity that we are seeing before we treat it.

Digital radiographs are utilized at our office on new and existing patients. Digital radiographs have 1/10th the radiation of traditional film radiographs. We do not want to cause any harm to our patients, and that means being able to see everything in our working field. To do that, we need to take x-rays that will allow us to see and diagnose any dental infections. In addition, some cancerous lesions and bone lytic lesions may present on a dental radiograph. Therefore, a basic set of a full mouth radiograph is essential. However, we do not subscribe to a dental insurance standard of a certain number of x-rays over a certain number of years. It is dependent on each patient—based on their dental history, current dental hygiene, home care, compliance, dental understanding, and dental recall in office. All of these factors play into Dr. Pearl Zadeh’s recommendation on the number of x-rays we will recommend on a yearly basis. In all reality, 2-Dimensional radiographs are limited in the ability to be as diagnostic as dentists like.

After we have completed our imaging and clinical examination, Dr. Pearl Zadeh will review her findings with you. She will take the time to answer any dental questions you may have based off her diagnosis. She will then discuss dental compatibility testing for dental sensitive patients.

Finally, the dental office coordinators will help to make all the needed dental appointments. Please do not hesitate to let them know if you need early morning or late evening appointments. This is what they are here for.  To make your experience easier! We understand, we all have very busy lives. If you let us know how we can accommodate you, trust us, we can make it work! This is our thing: boutique style dentistry!

The coordinators will help review all the financial questions, discuss your dental insurance, review your benefits, help submit on your behalf, write narratives, and follow up your claims only when possible. Please note, we are not a contracted dental provider. Our relationship is with you, not your dental insurance company. We advise you to be aware of your plan and its reimbursement schedule. We will do everything we can to provide you the maximum reimbursement possible. However, you are electing to get out of network services.

Woodland Hills Dental Office

We hope this has helped better acquaint you with what the first visit will look like at our office. Thank you for taking the first step and scheduling. We look forward to meeting you soon! Please call 818-716-6722 or chat online directly with our front office.