Our Story
by Dr. Gary Luu
We’re lucky.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. The Vietnam War was raging. People were desperately fleeing their homes. Thousands set sail to foreign lands while crammed on tiny boats. They blindly navigated the ocean without food or water. Many perished. Fortunately, my parents survived their long voyage.
When they landed in America, they had nothing—penniless and illiterate. Despite that, in a few short years, my dad—while learning English and dating my mom—managed to graduate amongst the top of his class from USC School of Dentistry.
Refugees fleeing Vietnam during 1970’s. MICHAEL SMITH/ STANDARD TIMES SPECIAL/SCMG
Dr. Hoi Luu graduating USC School of Dentistry with young Dr. Gary Luu by his side.
Dr. Hoi Luu, Mrs. Luu, and young Dr. Gary Luu on their dental office’s grand opening day.
“Let your work speak for itself.”
1987. The year my dad, Dr. Hoi Luu, opened his dental practice. He had a very modest office. Nothing extravagant. Only quality tools and a strong work ethic. He had a simple philosophy: let your work speak for itself. And that’s how he built his practice.
In the beginning, it was just my dad and mom working together. My brothers and I would hang out after school (conveniently located only a few yards from the office). When we weren’t doing our homework or playing around, we would observe our parents and interact with their patients. That’s how we were introduced to dentistry.
3 Sons, 3 Dentists
My brothers and I followed in our dad’s footsteps—all becoming dentists. Upon graduating USC School of Dentistry, I worked alongside my dad. My brothers continued their postdoctoral training to specialize in orthodontics. After graduating from one of the nation’s most competitive residency program, my brothers (Drs. Casey and Harvey Luu) joined our practice and now provide orthodontic care for our patients.
Left to right: Drs. Casey, Gary, and Harvey Luu, as children, posing in front of their dad’s dental office.
The Next Chapter
My dad had set a solid foundation for us to build upon. Over the years, we’ve renamed and rebuilt our office. We’ve expanded our team by hand-selecting the finest talent to provide our patients the highest level of care. We’ve also invested in cutting-edge technologies, like the intraoral scanner that creates pixel-perfect renderings of your teeth and the latest 3D CBCT that allows our clinicians to do their job with much more accuracy.
And we’ve been able to do all of this, even though—as I shared in the beginning—none of this was supposed to happen. We’re very lucky. And it’s patients like you who have given my family the privileged life we’ve had.
So thank you.
-Dr. Gary Luu, DDS