A treatment room with the dental chair, overhead light and chairside monitor
HomeSedation · Alexandria

Sedation Dentist in Alexandria, VA

Relaxed in the chair, awake throughout.

Nitrous oxide or oral sedation at 2855 Duke Street, for nerves, a strong gag reflex or a long appointment.

Book in AlexandriaCompare the two
2 kindsNitrous oxide or oral sedation
AwakeRelaxed, never put under
(571) 617-7245New patients, Alexandria
Smiling man reclining in a dental chair, looking relaxed and confident about his teeth
Who Asks For It

When sedation is worth asking for in Alexandria.

Sedation is not kept for surgery. At Duke Street it is worth asking about if any of these is true:

  • The dental chair has frightened you for years, perhaps since childhood
  • A strong gag reflex makes impressions and long work hard to sit through
  • Pain is something you tolerate badly
  • A full arch, several implants or a long rebuild is planned in one visit
  • You have been putting off treatment you know you need

Whatever the reason, mention it when you call: the visit is planned around it.

Compared

Nitrous oxide or oral sedation?

Nitrous oxide is the lighter of the two: laughing gas, the quickest to work and the quickest to wear off, so most patients can drive themselves home afterwards.

Oral sedation is a prescribed sedative you take by mouth before the visit. You stay awake but deeply relaxed, and some people recall little of the appointment afterwards, so someone else has to drive you both ways.

Local anesthetic numbs the area for every procedure, sedated or not: it handles the pain, and sedation handles the nerves.

Sedation dentistry in full
Relaxed, smiling woman reclining in a dental chair as a masked clinician waits in the background
Awake, not asleep

The practice does not offer IV sedation or general anesthesia, at Duke Street or in McLean.

Your Appointment

Sedation at Duke Street, in three steps.

It changes how the visit is planned, so it starts with the phone call.

The waiting area at Dr. Nahlah's Alexandria office, cream and gold chairs along gold-framed panels01

Ask when you book

New patients call (571) 617-7245 and current patients (703) 940-5410. Asking for sedation at that point lets the team plan the visit around it.

Patient holding a pill bottle while a doctor explains the medication across a desk02

Your health, then the choice

At the consultation your health and the medicines you take are gone through, and the right one for you and the treatment is chosen.

Clinician fitting a nitrous oxide nasal mask on a patient reclining in a dental chair03

The visit, and the ride home

Nitrous oxide starts in the chair; oral sedation is a prescribed sedative taken before the appointment. After nitrous you can usually drive; after oral sedation, the person who brought you takes you home.

The Office

Rooms for patients who dread the dentist.

Quiet, daylit rooms with doors that close, not open bays. Every photo here was taken at 2855 Duke Street.

The reception desk, with the Dr. Nahlah wordmark above a marble counter and cream and gold waiting chairs
Reception on Duke StreetCalm and daylit, not clinical
A consultation room with a round table, two upholstered chairs and a monitor
A consultation room with the door closed
The corridor between treatment rooms, lined with gold arch detailing
The corridor to the treatment rooms
A treatment room at the Alexandria office with a gold and cream dental chair beside the window
A treatment room in Alexandria
The preparation corridor, with instrument cabinetry along one wall
The preparation corridor

More of the Alexandria office

Long Cases

When sedation makes one sitting possible.

A full arch in one visit

All-on-4 at Duke Street places four implants and, in most cases, fits provisional teeth the same day. Oral sedation lets you stay calm through the whole of it.

Implants in a few hours

A guided implant placement usually takes a few hours, with nitrous oxide or oral sedation for comfort.

Routine care, too

Sedation is not kept for surgery. If fear or a gag reflex has kept you from cleanings and fillings, it can be used for those as well.

A doctor certified in life support

Dr. Nahlah is a BLS and ACLS provider, and sedation here stops at the two kinds that are safe in a dental chair.

Questions

Sedation in Alexandria: questions.

Do you offer IV sedation?
No. The practice does not offer IV sedation or general anesthesia, in Alexandria or in McLean. At Duke Street the choices are nitrous oxide and oral sedation, both given by Dr. Nahlah's team.
Will I be asleep?
No. You stay awake and can answer the team throughout. With oral sedation you feel drowsy and may recall little of the visit; with nitrous oxide you stay alert but stop minding the chair.
Can I drive home after sedation?
After nitrous oxide, usually yes. After oral sedation, no: arrange for someone to bring you to Duke Street and take you home again.
Who gives the sedation?
Dr. Nahlah's clinical team, in the treatment room at Duke Street. The choice between the two depends on the treatment and your health, and is made at the consultation.
How do I book a sedation appointment in Alexandria?
Call the Duke Street office: (571) 617-7245 for new patients, (703) 940-5410 if you are already a patient. Ask for sedation when you call, and bring a list of your medicines to the consultation.The Alexandria office →
Can sedation be used for implants or All-on-4?
Yes. Implant placement at Duke Street is done with nitrous oxide or oral sedation, and oral sedation is what lets a full-arch case be finished in one sitting.All-on-4 in Alexandria →

Where to go next.

Book a sedation consultation in Alexandria.

Ask for sedation when you call (571) 617-7245, or book online with the Duke Street office.