Tatum Smiles Dentistry

In my honest opinion, this place is a joke. They recommended that I had a surgery done before I got braces put on. So I took their advice (from two of their «specialists») and had the surgery, which costs me well over a thousand dollars and was THE MOST painful experience of my life. Speed ahead 6 months and I have braces. I went with a different company, since my insurance changed, and my orthodontist told me I would need the same exact surgery again because it should always be done AFTER braces. So I got another opinion from a separate specialist and he agreed that it should always be done after braces. So I called the old company to ask why they did it backwards and they were extremely rude, unprofessional and flat out told me they wouldn’t help me because «I didn’t stay with their company for braces.» I will never recommend this place to anyone.

The owner called me and cleared things up about my bad experience. I really appreciate that, as many places of business do not care to call or ask why. I was a tad mad in my first review but changed my rating due to the respect I have for your phone call. I don’t know if I will return in 6 months but I might just to give them another chance. We’ll see.

Dentist did not do what I requested of him, which was to do a temporary because I was in town for just a short time before I left the country, I did not want to do the procedure which would take several hours.
A reasonable person would do the temporary and have me on my way, but this dentist refused to do that, would only work on me if he could bill $ 2000 to my insurance (putting on a crown) and charge me $ 400 out of pocket.

I am in the majority of a customer with a horrifying tale. This place was recommended and they wanted to do all my teeth in the front. I had just had them done by another horrible dentist, just a few and the dentist wanted them all to match. A million x-​rays like others has said ensued and after all was said and done the crowns look great. But only two years later the crown in the front snapped off at the gum and had to get an implant. Just got the implant finished a year ago and today another tooth snapped off at the gum. Folks this is expensive shit! A nightmare.

Groupon screwing.
Here’s the story… bought a groupon, needed a cleaning, they told me I need more work done and upsale upsale upsale. Still did not get my teeth CLEANED.
Screwed.
Good Bye YOU’LL NEVER GET ANY REFERRALS FROM ME. Ever.
Buyer Beware.

This was a great experience.
I had to get a root canal redone (yikes)!
The staff here turned a very unpleasant idea into a seamless experience. Dr. Melde is the root canal expert so I had a consultation with him and booked my appointment (he only works her one day a month).
When I went in for the procedure I was a nervous wreck. The check-​in process was quick and the procedure was PAINLESS. Seriously, I never event felt the numbing shots. It took maybe 15 minutes and I was done. So easy!

DONT GO HERE! Worst dentist ever! I went in for a cleaning and I was there for 1 hour and 20 minutes!!! I spent more time waiting in the room alone then I had my mouth open!!! Never going back again. I have been going for 2 years and I have seen 3 different dentists!!! Longest wait time ever and worst experience ever!!!

I should have been smart and read reviews first. My wife went first and they wanted to so a $ 400 special cleaning and replace 2 of her crowns that never gave her any issues. Their 1 million X-​rays revealed that her crowns weren’t perfect. Total of $ 2,600. She told them just to do a cleaning. She had to fight back and forth with them for over an hour. The office manager is almost embarrassed to so this upsale. I came next and apparently they’ dl olé to replace 2 of my 3 crowns. $ 2,200 total. I played it cool and let them know I’d need to think about it but thanks for the info. Got my teeth cleaned and escaped. They have a fancy in house crown maker that they apparently need to pay for.
I have a friend that is a dentist but doesn’t take my insurance. I called him and asked him about the crowns. He said that this is a common money making tactic for shady dentists. Stay away, far away.

So, 2.5 years after my first review, I have decided it’s time to write another one. I still go to Tatum Smiles for everything. I could not even tell you how much I love these guys! Dr. Spine is a fantastic dentist, Melissa is a fantastic hygienist, Jessica is a wonderful all-​things-​office lady. I know everyone there, and every time I go in they ask about my mom, my other half, my job, etc.
A few of the things I love about them…
— FLEXIBLE! My other half travels internationally for his job 70+% of the time, and I never know when he is coming or going. If he called me in 5 minutes and said he had to leave for China tonight and would be back in a month or two, this would be normal. This makes it challenging to schedule his appointments, but not at Tatum Smiles… I make his appointments, and we often have to push them out. When I know he is flying in, I call them and they fit him in somewhere. Dr. Spine even skipped lunch for him last time. I’ve cancelled him last minute a few times, and they didn’t charge me a fee or act like the world was ending. They are always happy to work with him, and we always figure something out.
— CUSTOMIZED! They are realistic and provide customized care based on your unique situation. They got to know me quickly and don’t lecture me about flossing every day, because we all know that’s just never going to happen. Instead, they offer me personalized options… like using Glide floss to minimize how hard it is to floss in my tight teeth, recommending a SonicCare brush to me, suggesting I get an additional cleaning each year, that I use those disposable flosser things to make it quick/​more convenient, etc. This is important… the dentist used to be this negative thing I absolutely DREADED (and avoided). Now, since I’m not getting lectured or wasting time hearing about ideals that I’m not going to do, it’s much more positive. I actually enjoy going, and have improved my oral health because they offer things I will actually do. They don’t expect you to be perfect, they want you to be as good as is realistically possible.
— OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE, sensitive to your financial situation! When I first went there, I was cheap and didn’t have cash lying around. They had an in-​house dental plan and offered access to no interest if paid in full within XX months financing options. You don’t have to have perfect credit to get it, either. Plus, my mom (who I wrote about previously) had no dental insurance. They worked with me. They offer various treatment options, including the varying costs of each, to find the best option for you. They don’t pressure you. They don’t upsell unless there’s a very good reason. Now, I have good dental insurance through my work and I can afford it. They work seamlessly/​quickly with my insurance, still honor their occasional coupons, and I still use that no interest card (if they want to lend me money for for free, I am all for it!).
Also — the cost estimate they quote is what it costs. They tell me what will and will not be covered by insurance (for instance, I get fluoride during my cleanings, which I pay for myself). No costly surprises. Many docs hide behind the fine print in the stuff you sign, they haven’t.
— HONEST, stand by their work! I had a tooth that needed a crown. Dr. Spine didn’t think it needed a root canal… I said «hey, the other three molars already have a RC, it will need it eventually and my insurance doesn’t precert, just do it.» He wanted to be minimally invasive and only did the crown. Well, the crown kicked something up and I had to get a root canal (of course, I totally poked fun at him over this, though he could not have known). The endo elsewhere tore up the crown when doing the RC. Dr. Spine re-​made my crown on the CAD machine and replaced it at no cost. It didn’t feel quite right, the bite was a bit off and it was kind of elongated. After grinding it down a few times, it was close but still not quite right. He wanted me to be happy and remade it from scratch AGAIN, at no charge. This one is perfect. He OFFERED these… I didn’t call him complaining, angry or yelling. I may have poked fun at him, but I didn’t ask or demand or even expect it. He wanted me to feel good about the work. As you know, porcelain CAD crowns are pricey… replacing it twice and eating the expense of his own time and materials was very generous and says a lot about who he is.
— JUST GOOD PEOPLE! I have never met anyone in the office that I didn’t like. They are great, personable people. No one judges you and makes assumptions. They have a sense of humor and aren’t uptight at all (despite a nice office in PV). I’ve had a few things come up and called Dr. Spine. I never get the whole «you have to come in» schpiel — he listens, asks pertinent questions, and advises where he can… he never acts like I am imposing!
I LOVE YOU, TATUM SMILES! Thank you!!!

Dr. Spine is amazing! I just got three crowns done in one sitting and it was the least painful experience I have ever had! The office uses CAD technology and the crown is custom milled on the spot. It was awesome to watch. The staff is so friendly and wonderful. They fit me and my husband in last minute and Dr. Spine took his time and proved to be incredibly skilled. I highly recommend him without hesitation!

Always ready to help, extremely caring and friendly staff at Tatum Smiles. I realized I’ve been coming here since 2007 after my last visit! Great quality work!

I am a little sad we will not be going back to this location as the orthdontics will be moved to the North office by Desert Ridge. The staff is what makes the place so great. However, keeping with Dr. McFadden to finish treatment is the best option. He is wonderful.

Ditto on Alyson M’s experience here. This was the worst dentist appointment of my life. My 20,000 X-​ray photo shoot should have tipped me off, but I gave the benefit of the doubt. Another red flag was my sudden new issues with my teeth and the no-​mask wearing dentist with foul breath who breathed in my mouth for 20 minutes. Plus when the dentist was done he had a worker who couldn’t have been over 20, explain the $ 1500 of work. When I asked detailed questions I got responses that let me know it was time leave. The next week I paid out of pocket and took my notation from tatum smiles to my old dentist. My hygienists facial reaction was all I needed to see. She showed me pictures of my teeth versus what issues they claimed I had and the rest is history. Let’s just say the office had a laugh on my bad experience.
Tatum Smiles is a train wreck and and it pains me to give such a negative review. But it’s the truth. Bottom line: don’t send your worst enemy to Tatum Smiles.

Just had my wisdom teeth taken out here. They are extremely professional and were very helpful throughout the process.

I had a great experience here. I booked my appointment early to avoid any delays which are typical at any doctor or dentist. They were friendly and very thorough. My appointment took about an hour and they did x-​rays, cleaning, whitening trays, and I saw the dentist for about 10 mins. All and all a great experience and I will be back for sure.

DO NOT GO HERE. This was one of the longest and worst experiences of my life! Like another reviewer, I got the $ 29 deal on Groupon. Even though I felt like I was cheating on my regular dentist, I figured, what’s one cleaning and some bleach and trays going to hurt? HA!
I was there for almost 3 hours!!! They took a million x-​rays, which all showed good, then the «dentist» tells me, after pushing on my teeth, that I have all these cavities and all she’s talking about is money, money, money, payment plans, in-​house insurance, benefits coordinator. RED FLAG! All these people want to do is upsell and make you feel like all of your teeth are going to fall out of your face if you don’t get the $ 4000 worth of work done. I told her I didn’t want to speak to any benefit coordinators, I’d like to have my teeth cleaned and leave. Because, obviously, I will never go back there.
It still took another hour because she kept leaving… she didn’t put a mask on and was practically spitting on me as she was talking… she scraped like 4 teeth for a total of 5 minutes and told me she doesn’t do cleanings but they’re down a hygienist. I told her that’s not my problem. When I let her know how I felt she actually had the nerve to start getting loud and ARGUED with me! I’m sorry, but what is this?! Certainly not a reputable dentist, that’s for sure!
I called MY dentist today and made an appointment to have the other 28 teeth cleaned that they missed (since I still have my wisdom teeth). It made me happy that my dentist called them for my x-​rays.
You get what you pay for. My advice is… save up a few extra bucks and go to an actual DENTIST, one that will CLEAN your teeth and take care of you… one that isn’t trying to STEAL from you by LYING to you. This place is a scam.

The best dentist! I feel so taken care of here. I love how state of the art it is. Makes it easy to look back through my history and how my teeth are looking compared to last visit. Talk about a friendly staff too… They do go above and beyond. I Started going here a few years ago because it was 3 blocks from home… Now I drive 20 miles to see them and it’s 100% worth it.

My husband and I have been patients at Tatum Smiles for three years and have been extremely pleased with both the dental hygienist and dentists. Since this was covered by our dental insurance we didn’t have to take advantage of their $ 39 special, however, they treated us very well. I would not say we were «upsold» any services, however, based on our dental needs different services were suggested to us. As a consumer, I certainly would expect that type of information to be shared with me. I (we) were both able to decide what additional services we wanted (none at the time). If we didn’t feel we had been treated properly or been provided great service we wouldn’t have gone back.

IMO, avoid this dental group. The office is bright, clean and has state-​of-​the art equipment, but the services are below par. I had to point out several times where I felt I had a cavity before the dentist could «see» it with all his fancy equipment. It was a large cavity that required an inlay, not some microscopic thing!
Also, they try to hard-​sell you on all kinds of completely unnecessary procedures that will involve the most up-​to-​date (and EXPENSIVE) products… and they definitely don’t want you to leave before signing on the dotted line (including pushing financing options).
The teeth cleaning was a joke. I brush my teeth longer than the perfunctory cleaning the hygenist peformed.
I’ve never been so aggravated. The car dealers of dentists. We’ve never gone back and I found a much, much better dentist who actually deals with teeth and not space-​age delusion.

This place is the WORST! They lure you in on the $ 39 special. Sure they take some state of the art x-​rays but they also make you come back for the cleaning, they then try to upsell you on EVERYTHING! Special mouthrinse etc. The hygentist was sloppy, I walked out of there with a soaking wet shirt. Spend the extra money and go to a REAL dentist– not one in a strip mall!