Dr. Blaine Langberg, Ridgefield’s local orthodontist, is a man who wears many hats—and not just the funny ones he dons to celebrate his patients’ new smiles.
Langberg majored in Mathematics and minored in English at Union College, where he wrote his thesis on fractal repetition structure in poetry. Specifically, he explored whether poets of nature employed more fractals—or repeating patterns—in their work than city-dwelling poets. This early academic curiosity—part science, part art—would set the tone for a life filled with both structure and creativity.
For a career, Langberg settled on orthodontics and was accepted into the hallowed halls of Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He spent seven years at “The H Word,” as he jokingly calls it. Having met his future wife Rachel at Union during his sophomore year, they started dating when they were studying in Boston. The couple eventually married, settled in Ridgefield, and now have three daughters.
“I got my first full time job at 30!” Langberg tells us, laughing. But 22 years into his career, the fact that he was a late bloomer to the workforce is irrelevant. His joie de vivre is peaking—and it’s as epic as it is contagious.
Like the fractals he once studied, the cadence of Langberg’s life has taken on its own sort of fractality. There are so many branches and offshoots with their own pattern and rhythm. At the center of it all—the trunk—is his family.
“Great pride and joy come from my family,” Langberg says. “My wife and three daughters keep me grounded and remind me that at the end of the day, nothing beats the love and happiness we share together.”
The first branch is, of course, the orthodontics branch.
Langberg opened his eponymous practice at 17 Danbury Road in 2003. When the space next door became available in 2013, he expanded. With an arcade, children’s play area, state-of-the-art scanning technology (farewell, gag-inducing impressions!), and five open bays where the magic happens, the office feels anything but clinical. It’s warm, vibrant, and inviting—just like Langberg himself.
As Ridgefield’s sole resident orthodontist, Langberg has a deep connection to the community he serves. Whether helping a nervous child ease into their first appointment or celebrating with a newly braces-free teenager during a hilarious (or embarrassing?) “parade” through the office, he makes orthodontics joyful.
Then there’s the philanthropic branch.
Langberg is deeply committed to giving back, regularly donating his time, expertise, and resources to local causes. He supports numerous organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club, Run Like a Mother, Ridgefield A Better Chance (RABC), and The Prospector Theater.
At a recent RABC gala, alumna Lashawnna Mullins shared how having braces at Dr. Langberg’s office helped change her life. As a student at Ridgefield High School, Mullins received pro bono orthodontic care from Langberg. During her speech, in true comedic spirit, she joked about “how much… or how little” she wears her retainers.
The Langbergs, who are always looking for ways to give back to the community, have decided to become a host family for a future RABC scholar.
“The Ridgefield community has been very supportive of my practice,” Langberg tells us. “It’s very important for me to reciprocate, for me—and my family—to give back in any way we can.”
With ties to philanthropy, Langberg’s life has a comedic branch.
A few years ago, at a fundraiser for The Silver Platter Foundation—an organization founded by Rachel that provides goods and services to families affected by adult blood cancer with children living at home—Langberg discovered an unexpected passion: stand-up comedy. He bid on—and won—a comedy class with Christine O’Leary, former artistic director and occasional host of the Ridgefield Playhouse’s comedy series.
“Comedy is a fun way to tell a story,” Langberg tells us. “It provides me with an outlet to use a different part of my brain. It’s another avenue to spread more joy in the world, this time through laughter!”
Since then, Langberg has performed across Fairfield County and competed in Last Comix Standing at Mohegan Sun. He’s also taken the stage in New York City at The Comic Strip Live, Broadway Comedy Club, and Stand Up NY.
Next is the spiritual branch.
Raised in the Jewish faith, Langberg and his family are members of Congregation B’nai Chaim in Redding. In his 30s, during a visit to Restoration Hardware, he stumbled upon a book about Siddhartha. While Rachel shopped, he flipped through the pages—and something clicked. That chance encounter sparked a spiritual journey into meditation and Buddhism. Today, he proudly identifies as a “JuBu”—a Jewish Buddhist.
“JuBu is a thing!” he says, laughing. “‘I didn’t make up the name, unfortunately. The term was already coined in other nonfiction books before I discovered it.”
While he may not have invented the term, he did write a book about his spiritual evolution—adding yet another branch to his ever-expanding tree: author.
Langberg’s debut novel, Journey of a JuBu: How a Neurotic Jew Found His Inner Bu was published in 2020. Though fictional, the book offers a playful window into Langberg’s inner life, following a Harvard-trained orthodontist, Jacob, as he searches for a work-life balance while on a quest for inner peace.
His second novel was published in January of this year. Conquering Whitney: A Mountain of Misadventure follows Jacob—yes, the same Harvard-trained orthodontist—as he accepts a friend’s invitation to climb Mount Whitney, only to find old demons resurfacing.
If you haven’t already guessed, the book is a thinly veiled recollection of Langberg’s own midlife crisis—and epic real-life climb—which is still another branch on Langberg’s tree.
Langberg has always enjoyed hiking in and around Ridgefield. But hiking up mountains is exponentially more difficult. According to him, it’s also more rewarding.
Five years after hiking Mount Whitney, Langberg went on to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Then, at 52, he tackled Everest Base Camp—where three of his branches converged: hiking, orthodontics, and philanthropy. At Namche Dental Clinic, the highest dental clinic in the world, he donated a bag of toothbrushes and other supplies he had carried all the way from Ridgefield to Nepal.
“Hiking clears my mind—it’s another form of meditation. I love being out in nature, breathing the fresh air, and getting my heart going. And nothing beats the beautiful scenery. It’s been fun challenging myself to reach new heights—literally and personally.”
Despite his renaissance-man résumé—orthodontist, philanthropist, comedian, spiritual seeker, author, adventurer—Langberg is remarkably grounded. He’s as comfortable teaching orthodontic residents at Harvard as he is chatting with a nervous first-time patient or joking with a parent in the reception room.
Though his accomplishments are impressive, Langberg is anything but intimidating. Approachable, warm, hilarious—and above all, genuine—he also happens to be phenomenal at fixing smiles.
“Whether it’s patients or parents in my office, fellow comedians, or strangers on a hike—I love connecting with people,” Langberg says. “I think that’s my superpower. We all have one, and I really enjoy learning about everyone’s journey.”
We asked Langberg to share some of his favorite local hikes to explore this summer. His top picks? The Bennett’s Pond Loop Trail, Leon Levy Preserve, and Seth Low Pierrepont State Park. To set up a complimentary orthodontic consultation, visit braceyourselves.com (see what he did there?). Both of Langberg’s books are available at Books on the Common and online. And follow him on Instagram @drblainelangbergortho and @blainelangberg.