A year ago, Justin Loranger was concerned for his second-grade daughter. Malia’s front teeth had come in at a noticeable angle, and she was starting to get teased at school. He also worried the adult teeth were more susceptible to damage in the event of a fall.
“At her normal dental appointment, we asked about options, and the dentist referred us to Dr. Josh Johnson,” Loranger said.
Josh Johnson Orthodontics opened in north Spokane in 2006 and recently debuted an Invisalign-centered office in Liberty Lake.
The Invisalign option, which consists of a series of custom-made clear aligners that shift teeth into proper position, became a “no-brainer” for Malia after a brief discussion of her orthodontic options, Loranger said. Now 9 years old and one year into treatment, Malia’s teeth have been straightened, her bite corrected and she is in a final phase of ensuring her teeth are properly spaced for the adult teeth still to come.
“Parents at school ask us all the time, ‘what happened to her teeth,’ because in a year they’ve transformed a ton,” Loranger said. “You can’t go wrong with this setup, I don’t think. I think Invisalign is the future.”
If everything goes well, Loranger said a second phase of treatment when all of Malia’s adult teeth have come in will be much shorter and easier — if it will be necessary at all.
“The whole experience working with Dr. Johnson is the easiest thing I’ve probably ever done,” he said. “They know us by name, are really nice and Malia has felt comfortable every time we go there.”
As a bit of an Invisalign bonus, Loranger added that Malia has become the superstar brusher of the family. The aligners come out at meals, and so after every meal Malia brushes her own teeth and the Invisalign.
With success stories like Malia’s, Josh Johnson Orthodontics has really focused in on the effectiveness of treating most patients with Invisalign. In fact, the practice has reached the top 1% of Invisalign providers, reaching an esteemed Diamond Plus status.
Enter the new Liberty Lake office, which treatment coordinator Faye Benway said was designed specifically to create a unique boutique-like experience for Invisalign patients, including digital 3D scan technology and a virtual simulation showing an immediate approximation of a patient’s after-treatment smile. The office also boasts unique remote dental monitoring.
“We are the only dental provider in the Inland Northwest providing this virtual monitoring system that allows Dr. Josh Johnson to monitor patients’ progress remotely every week, meaning less trips into the office,” Benway said.
That Smile by Josh Johnson Orthodontics is located at 21950 E. Country Vista Drive, Suite 100A in Liberty Lake and can be reached at 893-1234.
NOTE: A version of this article first appeared in the 2020 Liberty Lake Yearbook.
