Caring For Teeth and His Community Must Run in His Genes

Jordan Jaffe's great-uncle was the first university-trained, board-certified orthodontist in Rhode Island back when he was just a kid playing in his family home in Cranston.

When Jaffe was 11, his family moved to Woodstock, Conn., something he described as quite a “culture shock.” Nevertheless, Jaffe thrived there and after graduating high school, he attended Bowdoin College, in Maine, where he earned a B.A. degree in biology and history.

It was during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years at Bowdoin, when Jaffe worked in a hospital emergency room, that he realized he really didn't want to become a physician. It wasn't until a year later, the following summer, that Jaffe knew the path he wanted to take in life.

That summer he received a grant to do research at the University of Connecticut's dental school. He enjoyed it so much that UConn became his home for four years of dental school after graduating from Bowdoin.

After obtaining his DMD (doctorate in dental medicine), Jaffe headed to the University of Maryland campus in Baltimore, where he spent another three years to become a certified orthodontist. Note that he followed in his great-uncle's footsteps while also obtaining a master's degree in biology.

Jaffe then returned to his home state, joining Orthodontic Partners, a practice headquartered in East Providence but with an office in Barrington, where Jaffe frequently worked.

Jaffe met his wife, Debbi, through mutual friends, and they married in 2004 and settled into a home on the East Side. While the East Side provided plenty of opportunities for recreation for the newlyweds, shortly after their son Jacob, now 4, was born, they started looking for a more family-friendly community, and Barrington had lots to offer with its excellent schools and family recreation activities.

The Jaffes moved to Barrington in 2008 and, shortly after the move, Orthodontic Partners began making some moves of its own with the senior partner wanting to relinquish some responsibilities. In 2009, Jaffe bought the practice, keeping on all the support staff and renaming it Jaffe Family Orthodontics. He also added a new family member, son Alan, now 18 months.

Jaffe considers himself very fortunate to be an orthodontist and, as such, believes it's important to give back to the community.

“It's a great profession,” he said. “We're fortunate to be able to do what we do, so it's good to give back, to be a good neighbor and a good citizen.”

To that end, he serves as president of the Rhode Island Association of Orthodontists, which participates in a program providing donated orthodontic services to those in need. Jaffe and his team, including his “tooth fairy,” also go into the schools and talk with kids about the need for good oral hygiene and choosing healthy foods. Most recently, they were at Nayatt School.

Wanting to provide services similar to his practice at 147 County Road, Jaffe recently opened a satellite office in Portsmouth. The Portsmouth office is open on Mondays, but the rest of the week Jaffe spends in Barrington, where he's a fan of being the “local guy.”

“It's nice to live just around the corner” from work, Jaffe said. He loves the community spirit of small-town life, too, and the opportunity to run into his patients at the grocery store.

“It's a very family-oriented town,” said Jaffe. “People have been very nice to us.”