Dr. Ghazala Zaid, DMD

As Cedarbrae Dental Center's principal dentist, Dr. Ghazala Zaid sets the tone for how the practice looks after the people who come through its doors. She earned her DMD at Penn Dental Medicine and carries that training into a general practice where straightening teeth sits comfortably alongside routine checkups and everyday restorative work. Leading a multi-dentist family practice means she thinks past any single appointment and considers how a person's care holds together over months and years.

Much of what draws her attention clinically is orthodontic treatment: the gradual, planned movement of teeth toward a more even and comfortable position. Teeth that are crowded, gapped, or tilted can be harder to keep clean and can leave a bite feeling slightly off, so orthodontic care tends to address both how a smile looks and how it works. Depending on what someone hopes to change, that may point toward traditional braces or toward clear aligners, and a large part of her role is talking through which route usually fits which situation. None of it is rushed onto anyone; whether treatment happens at all is a decision she prefers to reach together, once the reasons behind it are clear.

Her interest in comprehensive dentistry means she rarely studies one tooth in isolation. A conversation that starts with alignment can naturally widen to include gum health, worn or chipped edges, and how everything meets when you bite down. Because Cedarbrae is a team practice, she can hold that broader view while leaning on colleagues whose interests run toward root canals, extractions, or children's care whenever a plan calls for it.

Patients tend to notice that she explains what she is seeing before she suggests anything, and that questions are met with time rather than a rush to the next room. The practice keeps its doors open seven days a week, including Sunday, with the same 9 am to 5 pm hours every day of the week, and the team speaks nine languages, including Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, and Spanish. Together those details make it easier to fit orthodontic check-ins and regular visits around work, school, and family life. She is equally comfortable with the patient who wants a full plan mapped out in advance and the one who would rather take a single, well-explained step at a time.