‘Helping to create beautiful smiles and seeing lives changed’

Matthew Day

Staff

March 2, 2026

MARSHFIELD – Even the word “passion” may fail to convey the fervor Dr. Joshua Bruce has for his work as an orthodontist. 

“It’s what I do,” he said. “I eat, breathe and sleep it, in the roughly 18 hours a day that I’m not [actually] sleeping for four to six hours a night.” 

With all the time he devotes to his practice – Bruce Orthodontics – it’s no wonder Joshua said the recent five-year anniversary of his Marshfield office snuck up on him. 

“Really, it’s flown by – I’m busier than two humans should ever be for one [orthodontist],” he said, “but the reception from the patients in Marshfield and Central Wisconsin has been amazing.” 

What Bruce brings 

Other than Marshfield, Bruce Orthodontics has locations in Eagle River, Phillips, Woodruff and Rhinelander, with the latter, Joshua said, being established foremost, in 2017. 

According to bruceortho.com, orthodontics is “the study and treatment of dental displacement and malocclusions.”  

Bruce offices, per the website, offer a variety of orthodontic services for children and adults, including: 

• Traditional braces 
• Clear braces 
• Invisalign 
• SureSmile 
• TMJ treatment and splint therapy 
• Retainers 

Joshua said he describes orthodontics as “a combination of function and cosmetics,” achieving different goals for different patients.  

“Generally speaking, the most aesthetic outcome is also the most functional outcome,” he said. “Certainly, there are some who just want to change their smiles – they want to look better.  [Then], some have an impacted tooth, or they’re missing a tooth and want a space closed, or they may need restorative work.” 

When it comes to determining which orthodontic modality to employ, Joshua said he presents to patients “what I believe is the most efficient, effective modality” – which in some cases, combines more than one (i.e., braces, then aligner trays). 

“What I like to tell patients is, ‘There are different hammers for different jobs – you don’t take a sledgehammer to put in a roofing nail,’” he said. “Likewise, in orthodontics, there are many different options for how we go about treating a patient. And I try to do what is the most straightforward, efficient treatment for a patient that fits within their goals.” 

To stay on the cutting edge of orthodontic treatment options, Joshua said he continually trains on the most advanced procedures available.

“It is a constantly changing and evolving field,” he said, “but the core is, ‘How do we diagnose? How do we treat?’” 

Joshua said he also has staff members accompany him to annual American Association of Orthodontists meetings.

“That’s where we all receive the bulk of our yearly continuing education,” he said. “And then for topics that are of particular interest, I spend the evening in online courses. While I’m working on treatment plans, I might have a lecture playing on the side.” 

All the ongoing training, Joshua said, benefits Bruce Orthodontics’ patients – people who, in some cases, “have very few other options for care.” 

“I’m one of the only doctors in northern Wisconsin who takes Medicaid,” he said. “That was a decision I made consciously when I came to the area.” 

Orthodontic origins 

Joshua said his journey took a turn toward orthodontics in 2002, after a sudden lack of funding eliminated his position as a medical engineer in Colorado. 

“I really was saying, ‘What do I do with my life?’” he said. “My dad wanted me to become a dentist or a doctor. My brother [who was] in medical school [said to me] during spring break of 2002, ‘Why don’t you come with me to Juarez, Mexico, on this spring break medical dental mission trip?’ I had nothing else going on, so I said ‘sure.’” 

For the mission, Joshua said he worked as an assistant to a dentist and dental student, doing extractions. 

“More than anything, I enjoyed the excitement and working with people and making a difference in their lives,” he said. 

Such was his enthusiasm, Joshua said, that he sought another mission that summer, this time to Ukraine, where he would return for yet another mission in 2004. 

Between those two missions, he said he returned to college, completing prerequisites ahead of applying to dental school. 

Unfortunately, Joshua said his application was not accepted, so in the meantime, he continued to work in engineering. 

It would take two additional applications, he said, before he was ultimately accepted to the University of Oklahoma, where he would earn his DDS in 2010. 

Joshua said he then spent the next year completing an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at the same university. 

From there, he said he was accepted into the Saint Louis University – Center for Advanced Dental Education Orthodontics and earned his master’s in orthodontics in 2013. 

After graduating, Joshua said he looked into potential work opportunities in Wisconsin, per the suggestion of one of his brothers who had settled in Madison after completing his medical residency there.

Since the retirement schedules of nearby orthodontists didn’t coincide with his own availability, he said he began working with a corporate dental service, which saw him traveling extensively, across West Texas and New Mexico. 

“Over those two and a half to three years, I drove between 40,000-45,000 miles a year between offices for them, and I basically lived in hotels,” he said. 

With him commonly traveling up to five hours to work in a new city every day, Joshua said he finally wearied from the strain. 

Looking all over the country for a better situation, he said he reconnected with an earlier prospect in Wisconsin, ultimately purchasing the Rhinelander-based practice, which became Bruce Orthodontics in 2017.

As he acquired additional practices across the region in the ensuing years, Joshua said he’ll still “put in no less than 80 hours a week” – sometimes even more at certain times – to meet his obligations.

A significant part of those excessive obligations, he said, is due to “a huge shortage of medical and dental providers all over northern and Central Wisconsin.” 

Not yet able to recruit a second doctor to his team, Joshua said he keeps “incredibly busy traveling back and forth between Rhinelander and Marshfield.” 

Driven by a sense of obligation and love for his practice, he said the last 20 years have been “exhilarating.” 

“If I look back to when I graduated, I wanted to be somewhere where my skills were really needed, and I wasn’t just another person in a long line of other orthodontists,” he said. “Wisconsin has really been kind to me and given me the opportunity to use my skill sets to the fullest capacity and serve patients from all backgrounds.” 

From competency to comedy 

For someone who takes his work so seriously, Joshua said he has a humorous side that often surprises people – such as when he dresses up as different characters for Halloween at Bruce Orthodontics.

“I like acting,” he said. “I like being charismatic.” 

Joshua said his mission colleagues have marveled at his ability to change his demeanor. 

“People I’ve worked with said I was a ‘dichotomy,’” he said. “They said, ‘If you saw yourself doing skits, you’d think this guy is always joking around and very laissez-faire.’ But when I sat down and worked with patients, they said, ‘You know, you can be incredibly professional.’” 

Always serious when he needs to be, Joshua said he is a carefree “comedian when I can be,” considering he doesn’t get a great deal of time to interact with patients. 

“Those who know me more, know I’m probably my happiest when I get to be outgoing,” he said. 

Bracing for the future 

Shortly after opening Bruce’s Rhinelander office, Joshua said he was one of the earliest orthodontists in the area to adopt 3D printing technology to make aligners in house – a capability that was considered a mere pipe dream when he was in dental school. 

Now, he said he continues to look forward to new advents for orthodontic tools and technology, even as the fundamentals of the field are timeless. 

“There will always be a place for orthodontists, specialized training, understanding how to diagnose and how to treat patients,” he said. “Beyond that, I would say the tools at the core of orthodontics – how a tooth moves and how to move a tooth – will remain the same.” 

Joshua said his love for “helping create beautiful smiles and seeing lives changed” is likewise here to stay. 

“When I was in dental school, one of my business professors had us write an epitaph – ‘What do you want put on your gravestone?’” he said. “I don’t remember exactly what I said, but something to the effect of, ‘I lived my life in service to others.’” 

Joshua said he’s grateful to the “wonderful patients [and] wonderful staff” who help him to fulfill his calling and have supported the “tremendous growth” of Bruce Orthodontics. 

“Marshfield has adopted my practice and me into the community with open arms,” he said.

To return the kindness, Joshua said Bruce’s give-back initiatives include supporting local sports programs, the trunk-or-treat event in fall and Dairyfest in summer. 

“I look at this as a partnership, and I don’t ever want to take it for granted…,” he said. “I am there for them and because of them, and I want to thank the patients, the parents and the referring doctors who entrust me with their care.”