Brightening Smiles

Dentists for Special Needs’ Dr. David Jourabchi works on a patient. (Photo

courtesy of Pacifi c Dental Services Foundation Dentists for Special Needs)

Dentists for Special Needs helps provide oral care to patients

By Alison Bailin Batz

Finding access to acceptable dental care has proven diffi cult or impossible for many of the 52 million-plus people with disabilities in the United States.

In the greater Airpark area, there is a special group working to program these key services to the community, and support to them is key to assist them in continuing their critical work.

In August, Delta Dental of Arizona, through its foundation, announced a $100,000 grant to support the Pacifi c Dental Services (PDS) Foundation Dentists for Special Needs, a family-friendly, sensory-integrated nonprofi t dental offi ce located on Tatum Boulevard and Bell Road that provides service to the residents of the Scottsdale Airpark and beyond. Through the grant, a two-year investment of $50,000 per year, the Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation will support patient care, including fi nancial assistance for those who are uninsured.

The PDS Foundation Dentists for Special Needs supports patients with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities including autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia, paraplegia, cerebral palsy and many others. The clinic features specially designed wheelchair-accessible, sensory-integrated operatories with televisions on the ceiling, doors

Dentists for Special Needs Dentist Dr. David Jourabchi with a patient. (Photo courtesy of Pacifi c Dental Services Foundation Dentists for Special Needs) for privacy, and a unique operatory with two chairs to provide space for siblings to allow for modeling behavior. The team at Dentists for Special Needs is similarly specialized. The clinic features specially trained clinicians and team members uniquely equipped with behavioral and environmental techniques to ensure a successful visit. Appointments are designed to allow the patient time to get comfortable and acquainted with the team. “Our sensory room is a patient …continues on page 14

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favorite that offers a calm and relaxing environment with tactile elements as well as unique lighting and sounds. We incorporate similar features throughout the office,” says Kyle Guerin, executive director of the PDS Foundation.

Each operatory has sensory capes on the lights for a calming environment and a TV on the ceiling to provide distraction during treatment.

“The PDS FoundationDentistsfor Special Needs provides the appropriate accommodations for patients with physical disabilities, as well as sensitivity to sensory stimuli like speech, sound and light. David Jourabchi, D.D.S., specializes in treating patients using sensory and behavioral coping strategies, which is a positive step toward ensuring access to dental care for everyone across Arizona,” says Allan Allford, Delta Dental of Arizona president and chief executive officer. “Delta Dental’s mission is to improve lives by promoting optimal oral health, and making investments in organizations like this brings us one step closer to seeing this mission realized.”

The PDS Foundation Dentists for Special Needs was founded in 2019 by the PDS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on improving overall health by improving oral health. The PDS Foundation has four main programs through which it improves access to oral health care for disadvantaged and underserved communities: special needs dentistry, dental assistant scholarships, international service trips and mobile dental clinics.

“Since opening, the PDS FoundationDentists for Special Needs has grown to serve on average 200 patients per month, providing services including routine dental checkups, fillings, silver diamine fluoride, crowns and emergency dental care,” Guerin says. “This grant will ensure that we can continue to offer services to all individuals in a way that is comfortable and safe for them.”

This is one of many investments Delta Dental of Arizona has made to support oral health across Arizona and is in addition to its 2021 Foundation grants, which awarded nearly $775,000 to 30 local organizations to support oral health services and education. In addition, according to the recently released Delta Dental Institute’s 2020 Community Impact Report highlighting the investments the Delta Dental companies and their foundations made in 2020 to advance oral health, respond to COVID-19, and address health inequities and disparities, Delta Dental of Arizona impacted the lives of 346,818 individuals in Arizona by investing $1,787,734 in 54 community impact programs.

For more information about Dentists for Special Needs, or to make a donation, please visit dentistsforspecialneeds.com. 

“Since opening, the PDS Foundation Dentists for Special Needs has grown to serve on average 200 patients per month, providing services including routine dental checkups, fillings, silver diamine fluoride, crowns and emergency dental care. This grant will ensure that we can continue to offer services to all individuals in a way that is comfortable and safe for them.”

Frank Aazami’s Featured Listing Cozy, private, luxurious at Silverleaf

By David M. Brown

Give the heralded Silverleaf lifestyle to your family with this 10,660-square-foot North Scottsdale estate, featuring meticulous architecture by Dale Gardon Design and construction by Salcito Custom Homes.

“The attention to details in this home is all by design, not by luck,” says Frank Aazami, RLSIR Brand Ambassador, principal of the Private Client Group, Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, Scottsdale.

On a 1.89-acre lot in Silverleaf at DC Ranch –– one of the Southwest’s premier luxury golf course communities –– the two-story view home, 21376 N. 110th Place, is at exactly 2,000 feet elevation on a southwestern-facing-view lot built on a gentle foothills slope, providing a cooler microclimate than lower Valley areas.

“This remarkable home offers its new owners an unparalleled balance of sweeping views to the south of city lights, the Scottsdale Airpark in the distance with its incoming and outgoing corporate jets, the landmark McDowell Mountains and the world-famous McDowell Sonoran Conservancy to the north and east,” Aazami says.

Gardon, AIA, LEED AP, aligned all of the primary rooms on distant city lights and sunset views, and the pool/spa are centered between the nearby mountain peaks while off ering views as far as South Mountain Park 25 miles away; from a distance, the owners enjoy the view as planes approach and leave Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. And, the highest point of the house, the View Tower, at the front, is on axis with the community approach drive.

The architect masterfully created an authentic formal Mediterranean estate, “commensurate with estate neighborhoods from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Montecito, California, and beautiful cities and towns in between as well as Europe,” he says.

“It has quintessential estate character inside and out,” Gardon explains. “The quality of natural carved-stone details such as at the entryway, rusticated stone wainscoting, custom inlaid wood and tile fl ooring is reminiscent of the fi nest estate homes. The home envelopes exterior courtyard spaces, allowing daylight to penetrate rooms and corridors, and custom wrought iron details are used throughout for gates, balconies and awnings.”

“The key one-word description of this magnifi cent estate is balance,” says Bill Ramseyer, a Private Client Group associate who is co-brokering the home with Aazami. “This home has a formal look, with its arches, varying window configurations, corbels, interior balconies, decorative stonework and ironwork, hand-troweled plaster, yet it’s also warm, welcoming and inviting.”

Built in 2012, it has fi ve bedrooms and fi ve full bathrooms, a guest powder room, pool bath and semi-detached guest quarters accessed via a covered exterior walkway from the main house. “It’s cozy, private, luxurious and has great views,” Aazami says.

The owner, a car lover, ensured that the four-car garage included high ceilings so that full lifts could be added for an expanded collection, doubling the capacity of the space. In one of the bays, he has installed a golf simulator to use when the weather or his schedule do not permit him course time.

Enjoyed by the owners as a second residence, the home is in pristine condition, as they have retained the Salcito company’s Concierge maintenance service during ownership. “Our work is not simply done once the project has been completed,” explains Anthony Salcito, whose family-owned company has provided superlative luxury custom home construction since 1978. “The property’s integrity and value is upheld by the ongoing maintenance every noteworthy property deserves.”

Rooms, and no room for less than the best

Other rooms include a wood-fi nished library den/ offi ce with a coff ered ceiling and built-in bookcases; a fully equipped exercise/sauna room connected to the master suite; living room and dining room with an adjacent wine cabinet; a 12-seat home theater with the best A/V technology; family room; and an upper-level game room loft. And, the many cozy courtyards and patios affi rm that the home was designed and built for the indoor/outdoor Arizona lifestyle.

The eat-in kitchen has a breakfast bar and a walk-in butler’s pantry for entertaining convenience. The welldaylighted semicircular breakfast room is adjacent. Among the many kitchen features are 220-volt service; Energy Star appliances; built-in recycling; wall ovens; granite countertops and an island.

On the main level are the master bedroom, another guest bedroom and the semi-attached guest suite. The master bedroom includes a walk-in closet, sitting room, a view patio and an outdoor shower garden with a custom laser-cut metal trellis. Well-appointed his and her master bathrooms and closets are in place.

Upstairs are two additional large guest bedrooms, one with double queens and the other with a king. “We have been seeing that a high percentage of buyers want a floor plan like this,” Aazami notes.

The home is connected to city of Scottsdale water and its sewerage system. Heating is natural gas, and the home has a recirculation pump for a consistent supply of hot water.

“The house features all of the latest and greatest energy-efficient and state-of-the-art electronics,” Salcito explains. These include a programmable thermostat, satellite dish, an owned security system and advanced Apple/Savant Smart Home technology, allowing control from anywhere in the world from your iPhone or other Apple device of components such as TVs, lights, shades and security.

For its mix of amenities, beauty and convenience, the Silverleaf lifestyle is state of the art, too –– perhaps incomparable among luxury communities in the Southwest. Aazami succinctly describes it as “safe grounds, avid golfers, hikers, bikers and active bodies and activities in the Silverleaf Clubhouse that can include group and fun social gatherings.” One of the fi rst to buy in the community, the owners, native Midwesterners, chose it as their Arizona home because of this unique mix.

The husband praises, too, the robust cosmopolitan spirit of the Valley and its wide range of activities. “‘Metropolitan’ is a word people often don’t appreciate,” he says. “The Valley has the arts; it has the sports, it has everything. That’s what makes it special. It has a mix of people who come from all over the U.S. and from all over the world here; it’s a melting place.”

Everyone has his and her favorite rooms.

For Gardon, the notable distinguishing features are the dramatic grand entry foyer for its “distinctive guest arrival,” including an upper-level cross-over bridge between the living room and the grand foyer; the library den/office “for the club-like feel”; and the outdoor terrace areas.

Salcito also stresses fi rst impressions, in this home and all of his homes. “The front door is arranged in axial alignment, with immediate adjacencies from the grand foyer to the living room to an outdoor living patio, all arranged on the primary view to the southwest toward the Scottsdale Airpark,” he explains.

In addition, he notes the attention to details: meshmounted mosaic on the fl oor, the reclaimed Chicago brick, the foyer chandelier, the marble fi replace. “It is hard to discern what is more impressive: the views or the quality of work and the overall aesthetic of the interior architecture,” Salcito adds.

For the husband, the library den/offi ce is perfect for operating his business interests, and it’s close to the home’s interior and exterior amenities. His wife says, “The kitchen has the best of everything.” And, the “Little Italy” courtyard and marble sculpture remind her of the country: “historical, cozy and private.”

Ramseyer admires the al fresco dining and covered entertainment patio with those extensive views. And Aazami just loves the pool placement: “Imagine relaxing in the water and admiring the mountains at Silverleaf and in the distance across the Valley. Next to this is a shade pavilion with a changing/bathroom and an outdoor shower the owners’ grandchildren just love. Pure joy.”

The owner says that Silverleaf is the premier residential destination in the Southwest. “You can’t go wrong with this community,” he says, adding, “You can’t go wrong with this house.”

This superlative Paradise Valley home is off ered at $14 million. A video with the owner and images are at pcgAgents.com/SilverleafCustom. Showings are by appointment. To schedule a visit, call Frank Aazami at 480266-0240, text “SIRFAAZAMI” to 87778, or email frank@ pcgAgents.com. For Bill Ramseyer, call or text 602-576-9496 or email bill.ramseyer@russlyon.com.

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