A patient resting with her eyes closed in the chair under sedation
HomeSedation Dentistry

Sedation Dentistry in McLean & Alexandria, VA

Long appointments that pass in what feels like minutes.

Sedation is what turns hours of full-arch surgery into something you can sit through calmly, and what makes one sitting possible instead of five.

Talk it through firstSee the options
2 optionsNitrous oxide and oral
BLS & ACLSProvider certified
AwakeRelaxed and responsive throughout
Who It Is For

Avoiding the chair has a medical cost of its own.

Gum disease and other oral disease are associated with raised risk of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Postponing treatment out of fear is a decision with consequences beyond the mouth. Worth asking about if any of these are true:

  • The dentist’s chair frightens you, or has done since childhood
  • You have a strong or unpredictable gag reflex
  • You have a low tolerance for pain
  • You need several treatments, or a surgery that will take hours
  • You have been putting off care you know you need
The Options

Two kinds of sedation, chosen to the case and to you.

Both are given here by the practice’s own team. The practice does not offer IV sedation or general anesthesia.

Clinician fitting a nitrous oxide nasal mask on a patient reclining in a dental chairMildest

Nitrous oxide

Laughing gas. Fastest acting, shortest recovery, and in most cases you can drive yourself home afterwards.

Patient holding a pill bottle while a doctor explains the medication across a deskDeeper

Oral sedation

A prescribed sedative taken before the appointment. You stay awake, deeply relaxed. Transport both ways needs arranging in advance.

Dentist in gloves and a mask preparing a local anesthetic injection for a patient in the chairAlways

Local anesthetic

Used on every procedure, with or without sedation. It numbs the area being treated; sedation is what keeps you calm.

Relaxed, smiling woman reclining in a dental chair as a masked clinician waits in the background
One sitting

The whole case in a single visit, not split across five.

Dr. Nahlah with a patient at the practice
Why It Is Safe Here

Kept to what is safe in a dental chair.

Sedation here is kept to the two kinds given safely in a dental chair, nitrous oxide and oral sedation, by a doctor who is a BLS & ACLS provider. The practice does not offer IV sedation or general anesthesia.

See the full credential list

Questions

What people want to know.

Will I be unconscious?
No. Nitrous oxide and oral sedation both leave you awake and responsive. Oral sedation is the deeper of the two: you feel drowsy and relaxed, and some patients remember little of the appointment afterwards. Nitrous is lighter still: you stay awake and simply stop minding. The practice does not offer IV sedation or general anesthesia.
Can I drive myself home?
After nitrous oxide, in most cases yes. After oral sedation, no: transport to and from the appointment has to be arranged in advance.
Is sedation only for surgery?
No. It is available for any procedure. If anxiety or a gag reflex is what has kept you away from routine care, say so when you book.
Who administers it?
Dr. Nahlah’s own clinical team, here in the office. Which of the two suits you depends on the extent of treatment and your personal health, and is settled at the consultation.

Where to go next.

Say you’re nervous when you call.

It changes how the appointment is planned.