Dr. Bobbi Peterson is an orthodontist, and her practice, Aces Braces, is located in the heart of the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York.
Thanks to her hard work and diligence, Dr. Bobbi became one of only three black female orthodontists in Brooklyn and the only black female orthodontist in New York City who owns her practice building.
What makes Aces Braces stand out from all the other dental practices is that they offer the highest quality services at affordable prices. Dr. Bobbi and her team are dedicated to excellence in orthodontics and committed to providing a friendly, caring atmosphere.
As Dr. Bobbi points out, running a successful dentist’s office is incredibly difficult, and the COVID-19 outbreak made things even more challenging.
However, it didn’t take Dr. Bobbi long to come up with a plan to keep her practice running and continue helping her patients.
“During the lockdown, Aces Braces was closed and couldn’t admit any patients,” Dr. Bobbi says. “We tried having telehealth doctor visits, but there was not much we could do. Our final diagnosis must be based on X-rays and a full clinical exam. However, I was able to talk to and consult with my patients, so that made me feel like I was still doing something good.”
When Aces Braces was finally reopened, the practice had to rewrite all their office policies to include all state and city COVID-19 guidelines. “We take our health and the health of our patients very seriously. There are four staff members designated to keep a log of all temperatures of everyone that walks through the door. These staff members also do sterile wipe downs of commonly touched areas and Lysol sprays every 30 minutes,” Dr. Bobbi explains.
The most challenging adjustment Dr. Bobbi had to make was respecting the six-foot distance between the patients.
“The first thing we did was remove ten chairs in the waiting room,” she says. “Before the pandemic, there were eight dental chairs, meaning that we could care for eight patients at the same time. Now, only four chairs are used so that we can ensure the proper distance between the patients.”
The COVID-19 outbreak did present a challenge to Dr. Bobbi, but she was still able to come up with a solution that would keep both her patients and her staff satisfied.
“Since we have to limit the number of people within the office at a time, I had to think of a way to make up for the reduced capacity. So, we all agreed to extend the working hours for two days a week since all appointments have to be spread out.”
Now, Aces Braces is back to work as usual, and thanks to Dr. Bobbi’s caution, the patients feel safe enough to go to the dentist even though the pandemic is still ongoing.
