If you are looking for a dentist widely recognized as one of the best around...give our office a call.  Dr. Gibbons and Dr. McAdams would be happy to help you reach your smile goals...and we would love to meet you!

Click here to contact us:

To read more about the best of the valley:
https://www.phoenixmag.com/2022/07/07/2022-best-of-the-valley/

Effective June 15, 2022, the dental insurance provider GUARDIAN has elected to stop participation with our network contractual relationship at McAdams Dental.  Unfortunately this change is beyond our control and was not initiated by our practice. 

As always, Dr. McAdams believes flossing your teeth EVERY DAY is the best dental insurance plan.  We always recommend patients maintain a relationship with a dental practice they trust…AND….continue to take great care of their teeth to minimize their out of pocket dental expenses. 
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SO HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?

Patients who have Guardian dental insurance will most likely become “Out-of-Network” with McAdams Dental.  If you haven’t received a letter from Guardian, you should reach out to them to see if this will affect your plan.
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Fortunately, when you have PPO dental insurance, you are free to choose any provider you wish.  Many of our patients continue to visit our office with out-of-network plans and we hope you will too.  You should look into your particular coverage when visiting an out-of-network provider to fully understand how this will affect you. 
  
**Please note the following information related to out-of-network billing practices after 6/15/2022:

Payment for Services:  You will be required to pay for all dental treatment at the time of service.  Reimbursement for your services will be paid directly from the insurance company to the subscriber of the policy.   We are always happy to provide up front treatment costs to help you plan for your appointments, so if you have questions, please ask. 

Plan Benefit Information:  We will no longer have your frequency and plan coverage information. You may contact your insurance company directly or refer to your plan benefit information to determine when and what will be covered.  

Estimate of Coverage:  As an out of network provider, we will not have the ability to estimate coverage and reimbursements.  This information can be obtained from Guardian directly.   

Filing of Claims:  We will continue to file dental insurance claims for our out-of-network patients.  Once filed, the insurance company will coordinate directly with the plan subscriber and we will not be included in their correspondence.  Claims have typically been paid within a couple of weeks in the past.

**Please call our office if you have any questions related to our insurance billing practices, and thank you in advance for your understanding on this issue.  We are more than happy to discuss this change on the phone or in person if you would like.  Just let us know how we can help.

Effective July 31, 2021, McAdams Dental will be exclusively contracted with the CAREINGTON PLATINUM Dental Insurance Network.  In the ever changing world of dental insurance, we feel that Careington has served our practice well for many years as an umbrella of dental insurance networks.  Luckily, this change will not affect many of our current insurance relationships and business will continue as usual.  If your dental insurance does not fall under this network it is important to understand the following:
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IF YOUR PLAN DOES NOT ROLL OVER, MCADAMS DENTAL WILL BECOME OUT-OF-NETWORK AND YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:

When you have PPO dental insurance, you are free to choose any provider you wish.  Many of our patients continue to visit our office with out-of-network plans and we hope you will too.  You should look into your particular coverage when visiting an out-of-network provider to fully understand how this will affect you.    
Please note the following information related to out-of-network billing practices after 7/31/2021:

Payment for Services:  You will be required to pay for your dental treatment at the time of service.  Reimbursement for your services will be paid directly from the insurance company to the subscriber of the policy.   Claims are generally paid within a couple of weeks.  Our office will not receive payments or EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) directly from the company.  

Plan Benefit Information:  We will no longer have your frequency and plan coverage information. You may contact your insurance company directly or refer to your plan benefit information to determine when and what will be covered.  

Estimate of Copay:  As an out of network provider, we will not have the ability to estimate copay.   

Filing of Claims:  We will continue to file dental insurance claims for our out-of-network patients.  Once filed, the insurance company will coordinate directly with the plan subscriber and we will not be included in their correspondence. Please call our office if you have any questions related to our insurance billing practices, and thank you in advance for your understanding on this issue.  We are more than happy to discuss this change on the phone, or in person if you would like.  Just let us know how we can help.

On 6/18/2020, with cases of Covid-19 increasing at an accelerating rate, the Mayor of Scottsdale issued a proclamation requiring face coverings while in public spaces.  Obviously you cannot receive dental services in our office with a mask on, so we are interpreting this order as follows:

Patients in our dental office will be required to arrive wearing facial coverings and keep them on while waiting in our office, moving about our office and when making scheduling and payment arrangements.  When seated in a dental chair, the patient will be asked to remove their mask as needed by their dental providers.  

If a patient is accompanied by a guest, they will be required to wear a face covering at all times or wait in their vehicle if they prefer not to wear a mask.

For questions regarding Specifics of the order, The full order can be read here:

https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/ScottsdaleAZ/News/News+Images/News+documents/scottsdale-emergency-proclamation-june-18-2020.pdf

Well here we are, in the middle of our third week back to work and it feels great to be helping people smile again!!!  We have been so pleased to fix so many of the tooth issues that popped up during the stay in place order.  Initially our office worked to schedule the most urgent issues for treatment and as of now we are working to address more "normal" dental issues for our patients.  Dr. McAdams and Dr. Gibbons are back to a normal schedule and available for any of your dental needs.  We are booking up full days and working as hard as we can to get everyone taken care of.

We are asking for some patience while we work towards getting all of your cancelled dental cleanings rescheduled.  You can imagine how challenging it is to find a new appointment for 6 weeks worth of displaced patients.  How are we doing this you might ask? 

• As always, our advanced confirmation process creates opportunities for patients to be rescheduled.  
• We are confirming appointments farther in advance than usual to help create scheduling opportunities.
• We have cancelled all of our staff vacation/holiday plans for the next few months which has made opportunities for scheduling as well.
• We are working some extra days (so far we have booked some fridays in May and June) to help accomodate your needs as well.

Our enhanced infection control procedures remain in place and our patients seem to appreciate the extra effort we are putting in to keeping our team and our patients safe during these strange times.  Click here if you would like to know more about our infection control protocols.

We can't wait to see you again soon...stay safe and stay healthy!

On April 22, Governor Ducey issued an executive order allowing a return to clinical operations for Arizona dentists.  Throughout our mandated closure, I had the opportunity to help several patients with dental emergencies and I can tell you that with each week we are closed...the frequency and severity of dental emergencies is increasing.  We have always been big believers in preventative dentistry, so we are happy for the opportunity to return to operations and help maintain the oral health of our dental family.  I have always felt it is best to "put out a fire while it is small"...and not let things progress too far before addressing any dental issues.  That is why I am excited about the opportunity to get back to helping maintain the oral health of our patients.

We will be spending the early part of next week training our staff on the most current safety guidelines, updating our safety protocols and refreshing our already high standards for infection control.  We will then prioritize outstanding treatment appointments by urgency and slowly return to our "new normal."

Please understand that we will be doing everything we can to reschedule displaced appointments while preserving the high standard of safety in our offices.  If you have any questions about our procedures, you can visit our infection control page for a summary of our current safety procedures HERE. 

Feel free to send the office team a voice or text message if you need to reach us...and we will get back to you as soon as we are able!

I look forward to seeing you all again soon, I've missed you dearly!

​Don McAdams, DDS

If you are anything like me, you are probably shocked at how fast our lives have changed due to the Coronavirus infection taking over our country.  Sitting in my kitchen writing this post, I keep thinking about how much I miss seeing all of my patients and helping keep them smiling comfortably.  I have been remiss to close for vacations and holidays in the past knowing that some of you might need me while I am away.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce McAdams Dental has closed for normal operations.  As of March 19, 2020, we will be closed through the end of April.  At this time we are planning on getting back to normal as of May 1, 2020.  During this time, we are available on a limited basis to help with true emergencies.  If you really need us, call the office at (480) 991-4727 to get the emergency contact number.  We are also working to contact any patient with an appointment scheduled this month to confirm and discuss how to reschedule.

We have every intention of staying informed of the latest recommendations and maintain our already high standards for cleanliness and sterilization in our practice.  You can be assured that when we return, our office will follow all of the most current recommendations to keep our patients and our team members healthy!  

Until then I will be staying in, studying up and dreaming about the day I get to see all of your smiling faces again.  Please respect the gravity of this situation and do your best to stay safe.  We can all compare notes about how we spent our isolation time when we meet again.  I will be curious about how many of you watch the Tiger King on Netflix...and I hope you are able to find adequate supplies of paper products!

Sincerely,

Don McAdams, DDS

If you are interested, here is a summary of how we got here:

On March 16, 2020 - the American Dental Association recommended that dentists postpone any elective treatment for a 3 week period.   This decision was meant to limit the spread of Covid-19 to dental professionals.  At this time, there were just under 3,500 confirmed cases in the United States.

https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2020-archive/march/ada-recommending-dentists-postpone-elective-procedures

On March 18, 2020 - the American Dental Association published guidelines related to what types of treatment should be considered elective vs. emergency and advised dentists to only treat emergency issues for the 3 week period.  This was intended to help keep otherwise healthy patients away from hospitals while the emergency care was focused on Covid-19 response.  At this time, there were just over 7,000 confirmed cases in the United States.

https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2020-archive/march/ada-develops-guidance-on-dental-emergency-nonemergency-care

On March 19, 2020 - McAdams Dental began seeing only essential treatment and all elective procedures were postponed pending further guidance.  At this time there were over 15,000 confirmed cases in the United States.

On March 21, 2020 - the State of Arizona issued executive order 2020-10 which mandated stopping all non-elective dental treatment indefinitely with a promise to reevaluate the decision every 2 weeks.  This order was intended to preserve supply of masks and gloves for front line health care workers due to a nationwide shortage.  At this time, there were over 24,500 confirmed cases in the United States.

https://azgovernor.gov/executive-orders

On April 1, 2020 - the State of Arizona issued executive order 2020-18 instructing all Arizona residents to “stay in place” to limit the spread of the virus in our state.  At this time, there were over 186,000 cases in the United States

https://azgovernor.gov/executive-orders

We spend all our efforts to maintain and save your teeth, but sometimes, your teeth have had enough and it’s time to transition into a denture. It’s important to know that dentures are not a true replacement of teeth but certainly a better alternative than not having teeth. Here are some things to know about dentures and denture care.

How long do dentures last?

As a general rule, new dentures should be made every 5-10 years. Your gums and the bone that your denture sits on, are always changing.  The most rapid change occurs within the first six months of a tooth extraction. Over the years the bone in your mouth will continue to shrink, at a slower rate, and eventually your denture won’t fit well. Ill-fitting dentures will cause areas of soreness and sometimes excessive tissue growth which can be very uncomfortable.

When do you know when it’s time to replace?

If your denture begins to feel excessively loose or you have chronic sore spots, your dentist should evaluate your denture.  They may determine if a simple reline or rebase is indicated or if a new denture is necessary.

How do I clean my dentures?

Dentures should be rinsed thoroughly with warm water after eating. A moist denture brush with soft bristles should be used to clean any food debris using hand soap. A brush with hard bristles will create scratches in your denture that will harbor bacteria. You can also use denture cleaning tablets sold over the counter, we recommend following the manufactures instructions for use as they vary.

Do I need to see the dentist even though I don’t have teeth?

Yes, according to the American College of Prosthodontics, people who wear dentures are four times more likely to develop oral cancer if the denture is ill-fitting. Yearly dental screenings are a very important part of maintaining your oral and overall health. 

Dr. Michael Gibbons is a Prosthodontist, meaning he is a dentist with specialty training in dental reconstruction and replacement of missing teeth.  Are you in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area looking for help with your dentures?  If you are seeking a denture expert, you can’t go wrong with Dr. Gibbons.  Give us a call, we would love to help.

Click here to contact Dr. Michael Gibbons.

For more resources:

https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/d/dentures
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https://www.prosthodontics.org/about-acp/position-statement-the-frequency-of-denture-replacement/