By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
One of Pacific Palisades’ very own orthodontists Dr. Richard Jacobson now has the Westside covered with a futuristic solution to some of the fears of stepping out during the pandemic: an office on wheels.
Jacobson, who has been in practice for more than 30 years, founded Orthodontic Center Los Angeles as part of a multi-disciplinary center in the Palisades. At the height of the pandemic, his office was forced to shut down—but the rapport he had established with his patients motivated him to find a safe solution.
“Over the years, it’s felt like I’ve been a very integral and important part of the community … you develop very close relationships with people,” Jacobson said to the Palisadian-Post. “During the COVID crisis … [patients] would call me and they would say, ‘We need an orthodontic visit, what should we do?’”
Jacobson said he would sit and wait, and listen for guidelines from the city and state, until one day he just couldn’t wait any longer. He began visiting his patients at home.
“I would get in my little car, and I’d put my gloves on and my mask, and I would go to their house, and I’d go and adjust their retainer or fix a broken wire or help somebody with their jaw,” he said. “But it was very limiting, I didn’t have all the things I needed.”
And Jacobson sat and thought again until he was struck with an idea: “What if I equip a mobile dental clinic?”
He said people considered the idea far-fetched and called him a dreamer, but Jacobson took it further. He called the city of LA and the state of California to find what licensing was necessary, and followed guidelines from the Board of Dental Examiners.
Within six weeks, his idea came to fruition.
Described as a “dream that manifested,” Jacobson proudly presents a custom Mercedes Sprinter van outfitted with state-of-the-art technology, from digital scanners to X-ray imaging. He shared that the van is the first of its kind in LA.
Jacobson explained safety was a top priority when developing his idea. The van is equipped with the latest COVID-19 safety equipment, including a Halo fog sanitization technology system, which is designed to kill 99.99% of all viruses and pathogens. The Halo mist is diffused before each appointment.
“When I pull up to anybody’s home in Pacific Palisades or Malibu or anywhere we go … [there is] this joy in the kids’ eyes and the surprise … they love it and they don’t want to leave, nor do I,” Jacobson said about the experience so far. “Sometimes I think, ‘Why do I have an office?’ It feels like I’m having so much fun.
“It’s a solution that’s very available … anybody that’s interested can call me and I’ll give them the recipe. This is a wonderful opportunity for doctors in various professions to be able to add another dimension to what it is they’re offering.”
All orthodontic services offered in his office are available to patients in the mobile concierge service at no extra cost during the pandemic, including a full range of orthodontic treatment for both children and adults, lingual braces hidden on the inside of the teeth, clear aligners or Invisalign, retainers, TMJ splits, and obstructive sleep apnea devices.
The Mobile Concierge service offers telemedicine services, with monitors and high-tech intraoral cameras, which allow Jacobson to remotely inspect each patients’ teeth and provide personalized treatment from the clinic in real-time.
For more information, visit orthodonticcenter.la/mobile-clinic.
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