May 11, 2021

Several years ago, when I embarked on the journey to open my own dental practice, I had a vision in mind of what I wanted the finished product to be, but I had no clue how to accomplish it. I had dreamed of a quaint little office where I would know my patients on a personal level, provide state of the art care, which I know I am capable of, and become engrained in the local community. After moving to the Tarpon River neighborhood in 2017, I buckled down and began to turn this concept into reality. In 2019 I found a great older building, in need of some serious TLC. As I looked at it, I could envision my dream, and so began the struggle. Late nights and crammed weekends coordinating with an architect, an engineer, and contractors. It felt like the work was endless, yet I could see no progress. I learned more about dental office construction than I ever thought possible. We had some expected, and many unexpected hiccups along the way but I was hopeful that 2020 would bring my opening day. Then the Coronavirus brought Fort Lauderdale to a standstill. The permitting slowed to a crawl, building materials were in short supply, and even if everything had worked out perfectly, people were not comfortable seeking dental treatment. My dream was put on hold a little bit longer.

As the community learned to function with increased restrictions, we were able to get back on track, and quickly at that! Things began to happen lightning fast, and now, just weeks away from opening day, I can say that I’m thankful for the victories and for the struggles as well, as they tach us to put things in perspective.

My team is just putting the finishing touches on a newly renovated space where everyone from the Greater Fort Lauderdale area can address their oral health needs. It will be a practice with state-of-the-art care, where every patient feels like a visiting friend. In the meantime, I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the past year, so that you too can see how far we’ve come. Welcome to Tarpon River Dental; I cannot wait to see you at our grand opening!

Dr. Mariel Petruk