Patient Comfort
Office Environment
Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki’s office offers a friendly environment where your child will feel at home. Our office is designed to put your infant, child or teen at ease by providing some friendly amenities, such as video games and movies to help have a fun, positive experience at every visit. Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki deeply believes your child’s visit to the pediatric dentist should be pleasant and enjoyable, and she personally make sure to spend extra time with you and your child to answer all questions and concerns. Furthermore, Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki is known for her ” tell-show-do ” method to put your child at ease, explaining dental equipment and procedures that might otherwise be mysterious and frightening. In some cases the use of appropriate sedatives is recommended for those anxious children.
Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide is a safe sedation method that may be used to help your child relax during the visit while allowing Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki to effectively treat your child’s dental needs. Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki offers nitrous oxide sedation (also known as laughing gas) for the slightly anxious child, who is cooperative, but possibly worried about sharp instruments, noise, water, etc… Nitrous oxide can help your child tolerate more pain than normal by increasing the threshold for pain. Nitrous oxide can decrease the gag reflex, this enables them to feel more comfortable during dental procedures. However Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki would like parents to know that nitrous oxide doesn’t work for children who are too young or too anxious to sit in the chair, or don’t feel comfortable having the nose piece placed on their nose. And on rare occasions, nitrous oxide may cause nausea, so Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki suggests minimal food intake prior to the appointment.
The laughing gas is a blend of oxygen and nitrous oxide and is very safe, as it is reversible and can be adjusted in concentration. Your child is fully conscious and will keep all of their natural reflexes while absorbing the laughing gas. Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki will place the rubber nose piece on the child’s nose, and it will take 1-5 minutes for the effects of the nitrous oxide to take place. You can expect varied reactions to the gas: Some children may become dissociated while others may feel very happy, giggle and tell stories. Occasionally a child may feel very relaxed and take a nap. Most of the time, the child will stay awake throughout the process. Towards the end of the procedure, the nitrous oxide is turned off and your child will breathe 100% oxygen for a few minutes to clear the nitrous oxide from their system. Then, Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki will place your child in an upright sitting position to ensure that your child is not dizzy before concluding the appointment
Oral Sedation
Another alternative for helping nervous children relax at the dentist’s office is the use of oral conscious sedation. Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki typically uses two and standard medications: Versed and Vistaril. The combination of oral sedation with nitrous oxide helps to relax very nervous children and help make your child’s procedure as comfort as possible. Your child will start by drinking a small amount of liquid medication, after about 30 to 45 minutes, your child will become drowsey, then Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki will start the treatment. Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki will monitor your child according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentist guidelines throughout the procedure. When oral sedation is used, It is important that your child does not eat or drink 4 hours prior to the appointment. Oral sedation rarely produces serious side effects; nausea is among the most common.
IV Sedation
Fearful children or children with special needs that do not work well with oral conscious sedation may use intravenous ( IV ) Sedation. Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki works with highly accredited dental anesthesiologists for IV Sedation. IV Sedation is very safe for healthy children. Before any decision is made to use IV Sedation, Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki will work with you to comprehensively review your child’s health history, which must be done in all cases.. If there is any medical condition, Dr. Cima Mazar-Atabaki would request a clearance from you and your child’s medical doctor. To prepare for IV sedation, It is important that your child does not eat or drink 6 hours prior to the appointment. The night before your child’s appointment, the anesthesiologist will call you to answer any questions you may have.
On the day of your child’s appointment, your child will arrive in our office on an empty stomach. The anesthesiologist will review your child’s health history with a physical exam. Then, the anesthesiologist will give your child an injection of sedative medication in the arm. Some children may cry through the injection, but with the amnesic effect of the sedation medication, your child may not remember the injection. After 5-10 minutes, when your child is relaxed, we will bring your child to the treatment room and have an IV placed. If x-rays were unable to be taken prior to the appointment, we will take x-rays and discuss possible changes in the treatment plan before the dental procedure is started. After the dental treatment is complete, the anesthesiologist will slowly wake your child up. Some children are sleepy when they wake up, some children are shivering, some cry. The anesthesiologist will give you post procedure instructions and wait until your child is alert before releasing him or her.
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