Dr. Von Gruben was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences from Louisiana State University. He then went on to receive his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from LSU School of Dentistry, where he served as Vice President of his class and was awarded the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Predoctoral Student Award for outstanding promise in the field of Pediatric Dentistry.
After dental school, Dr. Von Grubens love of treating children led him to complete an additional two-year residency program specializing in Pediatric Dentistry at LSU School of Dentistry and Childrens Hospital of New Orleans. During his residency he received specialized training in pediatric conscious sedation, behavior management techniques, and hospital operating room cases. Dr. Von Gruben is trained to see healthy and medically compromised children, traumatic dental injuries and emergencies, and children with craniofacial abnormalities.
Dr. Von Gruben is passionate about pediatric dentistry and is very active in the dental profession. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Dental Association, Louisiana Dental Association, and the Northlake Dental Association. He is also on the medical staff of St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Childrens Hospital of New Orleans.
Dr. Von Gruben is the youngest of six children, uncle to forty-four nieces and nephews, and the father of six children. He feels truly blessed to be able to make a difference in the lives of children on a daily basis both in his personal life and his profession. He enjoys being with his family, exercising and watching college football in his spare time. He and his wife, Rachel, have six children; Thomas, Joseph, Caroline, Zachary, Luke, and Alex.
Reviews
Rating 4.3 out of 5 based on 40 reviews
Sort by
newest oldest highest lowestSpenci Guinot
2 years ago
Front desk staff was rude and abrupt on the phone.
Chad Fazzio
2 years ago
My three children have been patients of Dr. Von Gruben for years. The staff is always polite and the facility is very clean and child-friendly. Dr. Von Gruben does excellent an excellent job, takes his time with each child, and answers any questions that we have. Highly recommend!!!
jordyn campo
2 years ago
My daughter got dismissed from their practice because she had four appointments she missed in the last THREE years we had been coming there . One was my fault I forgot about the appointment and the others three were because she was sick . I would totally understand if they were back to back in the same year but these where all from different years dating back from 2018 till now . Also they made me wait three weeks to tell me that my daughter could not go there anymore . I called numerous times and they did not have a answer for me . Finally on the third time of calling The letter from Von gruben just so happened to "just pop up on her desk ". Ridiculous and rude especially since we are in a pandemic .
Timothy Poyadou
2 years ago
They say you know good people when you meet them, that's Dr Von Gruben!!! Kids love him
Melinda Hernandez
2 years ago
Super friendly and professional staff. Always accommodating! They work very well to make my children feel at ease. This is definitely my go to dental office. They're the best around! Thanks guys!
Linda Dale
2 years ago
Not sure how many patients he sees in a day but my grandson was worked in on a cancellation for some stainless steel crowns. He was given sedation and nitrous oxide which is why we chose this dds to begin with. I have 20 years experience in the Dental field from California. I worked as an assistant and a manager and X-ray tech. We also frequently used sedation on young children in order to avoid developing fear and anxiety about going to the dentist. Children can be traumatized easily and will forever be difficult when having to go to the dentist. Unfortunately as my daughter explained her experience with my grandson, the treatment by Dr Von Gruben was poor to say the least. Once he was somewhat sedated he was given injections for numbing. I am assuming it was lidocaine or something similar. Sounds like he got a block and possibly an additional injection in between the 2 affected teeth. The doctor then started working on him immediately. He woke up and started crying. My grandson is one of those kids that has a high pain tolerance and in addition is an extremely compliant child. He started arching his back and was in obviously extreme pain. Dr kept assuring my daughter he wasn't feeling anything. I'm sorry but you can tell the cry of extreme pain! The procedure was started so they had to finish and my daughter had to hold him down. He was extremely traumatized! He came home and is still talking about the bad dentist! I know he will never be convinced to go back. I think if Dr Von Gruben had given him the injections and waited for them to start working before he started grinding away at his tooth the entire experience would have gone differently! Or maybe given him more lidocaine when it was obvious he was in distress. In my 20 years experience in this field I have never seen an injection given and then work starting immediately. Usually there is a waiting period of at least 10 minutes! Now this child has had the exact type of experience you hope to avoid in dentistry. I feel he was rushed because it was a cancellation. Not enough time was taken. He should have been given additional numbing medication and allowed time for it to take effect. By the time the medication started really working, it was over and the damage was done. This DDS has caused great harm to my grandson .
kayla rexwinkle
2 years ago
I have brought my kids here one time and was not impressed with the cleanliness of their waiting room...but i wouldn't give a 1 star just for that. My 1 star comes from the fact that i made one of my kids an appointment for grinding her teeth but canceled due to having COVID19. Then a week later got a letter in mail saying ALL THREE of my kids missed an appointment and not bringing them in is basically irresponsible (different wording was used) then telling me next time we don't call to cancel (which i did!!!) we would be charged! I get the charging for no show appointments any other time BUT NOT IN A PANDEMIC! This is beyond disrespectful! I will never be back nor recommend this office. Someone is not doing their job correctly and canceling appointments and the fact that they would charge for no show appointments during a pandemic is disgusting!
Nicci Varnado
2 years ago
We love Dr Von Gruben! He is very friendly and professional. His staff is always kind and make my kids feel very comfortable. The office is always very clean and we never wait long. If you are looking for an overall great experience this is your place! I always recommend him to everyone. Thanks for being so awesome!
Jamie Fazzio
2 years ago
Dr Von Gruben is the best pediatric dentist we have ever used. His demeanor is calm and professional and my 3 children absolutely love him. They get so excited when they know they are going to the dentist. Dr. Von Gruben's office is very clean and organized and his office staff is always very kind, knowledgeable, and professional. My child had to have a small procedure and he was very nervous. Dr. Von Gruben was very reassuring, patient, and gentle with him. I love that we never have a long wait prior to our appointment and that I am able to go back with my child. If you are trying to find a great pediatric dentist, look no further! He is the BEST! He will care for your child like his own!
Emily Smith
2 years ago
Hello. My son is the little boy who inspired my mother, Linda to write her highly unfavorable review. Her post was of her own accord. I had more to say, although room will not allow be to say all I'd like to say. Although I see and appreciate the invite to call the dentist personally, I felt like sharing here would keep perspectives transparent even if they are conflicting since this is where the posts are occurring. The Visit: My son had three cavities. The appointment was typical until Dr. Von Gruben came in to start working. He was kind and friendly throughout the visit. He gave my son Novocain, my son handled it OK. As he was working my son got more agitated. I understand everyone can respond differently to medication, but something felt wrong. My son seemed to be feeling a lot of pain. I asked Dr. Von Gruben of it was possible that he was feeling the pain. He stated he understood my concern and said he could not feel pain. My son was screaming and escalating. The last few minutes of this session were intense. My son was extremely distressed. My son did not want to hug me. He didn't understand. He explained that this was probably due to the medication. I just ask to have it considered that I felt something in my gut as a mother that he could feel it, although I believe Dr. Von Gruben answered according to his experience and knowledge. Sometimes in spite of everything, a mother knows her child. Then visit ended with Dr. Von Gruben giving me aftercare instructions while my son rolled around screaming on the floor kicking my shins. Dr. Von Gruben explained that my son was not misbehaving and that he would be back to himself by the afternoon most likely. He thanked me for helping. My son finally let me hold him and I took him down to the car. The Car: Once I got to the car we had a talk. He would not look at me. He asked me why I held him down while "it hurt". At this point, I let him know I believed him. I explained that the work inside his mouth was not supposed to hurt. A Call to Mom: I called my mom to talk about my son's pain not the dentist. My mother became very concerned and expressed that she felt very strongly that it should not have occurred the way that it did. One of her questions was how long of a wait there was between the numbing injections in the start of the work. As I recall, he started after injections without any time. This is how I remember it. She stressed how critical it was to wait long enough after the injections for full numbing to take affect. She also stated that there are some people who don't respond to Novocain and continue to feel pain in spite of injection. She agreed that it was quite possible that he felt severe pain if not the whole time, at first. She felt it was avoidable. She felt the long wait time between appointments might mean there is an overload of patient's affecting the quality of care. I think she made strong points. Past Experience with Dr. Von Gruben and some final thoughts: This has been our first negative experience. I do not feel anything was intentionally done to harm my child. Ultimately, I'm not exactly sure what happened except that it was really awful, and it was very painful. I still feel like something went wrong. I have seen real pain dismissed and pain exaggerated. Both can happen. In this case, for some reason, my son felt everything, and I believe him. I'm just glad that my son is OK now. I agree it would have been better at a slower pace, better with time after initial numbing, and better with time to calm my son before receiving instructions. It's important to say that I've always been in the room while Dr. Von Gruben has worked with my children. I've always helped to keep hands out of the way and enjoyed chatting through the session. Dr. Von Gruben has never been rude, unkind or disrespectful. Dr. Von Gruben specifying to me that my son was not misbehaving demonstrates he had compassionate intentions. I hope this post was helpful to anyone following along. Thanks for coming to bat Mom, and thanks for your response to her Dr. Von Gruben.
oxpatchreb
2 years ago
Staff are nice, attentive and helpful. It's a busy place, but that means a lot of parents trust their kids to this dentist. The care my 3 kids receive is always very good, they actually like going to Dr VG because it doesn't hurt. In medicine, sometimes things don't always go to plan and the Dr has to think on his feet and react, in these cases there is no one I trust more with my kids than Dr VG. We tried 3 different dentists before finding this one and we know we're in the right place. We've had one billing issue and one appt mix up issue in 8 years and each was handled quickly and professionally. Love Dr VG and his staff.
Jenny Niehaus
2 years ago
As someone who also works in a doctors office, I could never imagine speaking to someone the way Kaye spoke to me. All I needed was my sons referral to be resent to an oral surgeon, and I can't even get that done. I keep being put off and told it'll take 1-2 weeks. We send/ receive referrals constantly and they're done the same day. If my son was a little old, I wouldn't be in such a rush. But he's a baby. Asked for an Office manager twice and was hung up on. Third time- told I couldn't be transferred to her voicemail because she's on the phone with patients.
Adam Henning
2 years ago
Both my boys having been going here for years. They do a great job and are super patient with the kids. Highly recommend!
Jamie Fazzio
3 years ago
Dr Von Gruben is the best pediatric dentist we have ever used. His demeanor is calm and professional and my 3 children absolutely love him. They get so excited when they know they are going to the dentist. Dr. Von Gruben's office is very clean and organized and his office staff is always very kind, knowledgeable, and professional. My child had to have a small procedure and he was very nervous. Dr. Von Gruben was very reassuring, patient, and gentle with him. I love that we never have a long wait prior to our appointment and that I am able to go back with my child. If you are trying to find a great pediatric dentist, look no further! He is the BEST! He will care for your child like his own!
Emily Smith
3 years ago
Hello. My son is the little boy who inspired my mother, Linda to write her highly unfavorable review. Her post was of her own accord. I had more to say, although room will not allow be to say all I'd like to say. Although I see and appreciate the invite to call the dentist personally, I felt like sharing here would keep perspectives transparent even if they are conflicting since this is where the posts are occurring. The Visit: My son had three cavities. The appointment was typical until Dr. Von Gruben came in to start working. He was kind and friendly throughout the visit. He gave my son Novocain, my son handled it OK. As he was working my son got more agitated. I understand everyone can respond differently to medication, but something felt wrong. My son seemed to be feeling a lot of pain. I asked Dr. Von Gruben of it was possible that he was feeling the pain. He stated he understood my concern and said he could not feel pain. My son was screaming and escalating. The last few minutes of this session were intense. My son was extremely distressed. My son did not want to hug me. He didn't understand. He explained that this was probably due to the medication. I just ask to have it considered that I felt something in my gut as a mother that he could feel it, although I believe Dr. Von Gruben answered according to his experience and knowledge. Sometimes in spite of everything, a mother knows her child. Then visit ended with Dr. Von Gruben giving me aftercare instructions while my son rolled around screaming on the floor kicking my shins. Dr. Von Gruben explained that my son was not misbehaving and that he would be back to himself by the afternoon most likely. He thanked me for helping. My son finally let me hold him and I took him down to the car. The Car: Once I got to the car we had a talk. He would not look at me. He asked me why I held him down while "it hurt". At this point, I let him know I believed him. I explained that the work inside his mouth was not supposed to hurt. A Call to Mom: I called my mom to talk about my son's pain not the dentist. My mother became very concerned and expressed that she felt very strongly that it should not have occurred the way that it did. One of her questions was how long of a wait there was between the numbing injections in the start of the work. As I recall, he started after injections without any time. This is how I remember it. She stressed how critical it was to wait long enough after the injections for full numbing to take affect. She also stated that there are some people who don't respond to Novocain and continue to feel pain in spite of injection. She agreed that it was quite possible that he felt severe pain if not the whole time, at first. She felt it was avoidable. She felt the long wait time between appointments might mean there is an overload of patient's affecting the quality of care. I think she made strong points. Past Experience with Dr. Von Gruben and some final thoughts: This has been our first negative experience. I do not feel anything was intentionally done to harm my child. Ultimately, I'm not exactly sure what happened except that it was really awful, and it was very painful. I still feel like something went wrong. I have seen real pain dismissed and pain exaggerated. Both can happen. In this case, for some reason, my son felt everything, and I believe him. I'm just glad that my son is OK now. I agree it would have been better at a slower pace, better with time after initial numbing, and better with time to calm my son before receiving instructions. It's important to say that I've always been in the room while Dr. Von Gruben has worked with my children. I've always helped to keep hands out of the way and enjoyed chatting through the session. Dr. Von Gruben has never been rude, unkind or disrespectful. Dr. Von Gruben specifying to me that my son was not misbehaving demonstrates he had compassionate intentions. I hope this post was helpful to anyone following along. Thanks for coming to bat Mom, and thanks for your response to her Dr. Von Gruben.
Jenny Niehaus
3 years ago
As someone who also works in a doctors office, I could never imagine speaking to someone the way Kaye spoke to me. All I needed was my sons referral to be resent to an oral surgeon, and I can't even get that done. I keep being put off and told it'll take 1-2 weeks. We send/ receive referrals constantly and they're done the same day. If my son was a little old, I wouldn't be in such a rush. But he's a baby. Asked for an Office manager twice and was hung up on. Third time- told I couldn't be transferred to her voicemail because she's on the phone with patients.
Melinda Hernandez
3 years ago
Super friendly and professional staff. Always accommodating! They work very well to make my children feel at ease. This is definitely my go to dental office. They're the best around! Thanks guys!
Linda Dale
3 years ago
Not sure how many patients he sees in a day but my grandson was worked in on a cancellation for some stainless steel crowns. He was given sedation and nitrous oxide which is why we chose this dds to begin with. I have 20 years experience in the Dental field from California. I worked as an assistant and a manager and X-ray tech. We also frequently used sedation on young children in order to avoid developing fear and anxiety about going to the dentist. Children can be traumatized easily and will forever be difficult when having to go to the dentist. Unfortunately as my daughter explained her experience with my grandson, the treatment by Dr Von Gruben was poor to say the least. Once he was somewhat sedated he was given injections for numbing. I am assuming it was lidocaine or something similar. Sounds like he got a block and possibly an additional injection in between the 2 affected teeth. The doctor then started working on him immediately. He woke up and started crying. My grandson is one of those kids that has a high pain tolerance and in addition is an extremely compliant child. He started arching his back and was in obviously extreme pain. Dr kept assuring my daughter he wasn't feeling anything. I'm sorry but you can tell the cry of extreme pain! The procedure was started so they had to finish and my daughter had to hold him down. He was extremely traumatized! He came home and is still talking about the bad dentist! I know he will never be convinced to go back. I think if Dr Von Gruben had given him the injections and waited for them to start working before he started grinding away at his tooth the entire experience would have gone differently! Or maybe given him more lidocaine when it was obvious he was in distress. In my 20 years experience in this field I have never seen an injection given and then work starting immediately. Usually there is a waiting period of at least 10 minutes! Now this child has had the exact type of experience you hope to avoid in dentistry. I feel he was rushed because it was a cancellation. Not enough time was taken. He should have been given additional numbing medication and allowed time for it to take effect. By the time the medication started really working, it was over and the damage was done. This DDS has caused great harm to my grandson .
Nicci Varnado
3 years ago
We love Dr Von Gruben! He is very friendly and professional. His staff is always kind and make my kids feel very comfortable. The office is always very clean and we never wait long. If you are looking for an overall great experience this is your place! I always recommend him to everyone. Thanks for being so awesome!
oxpatchreb
3 years ago
Staff are nice, attentive and helpful. It's a busy place, but that means a lot of parents trust their kids to this dentist. The care my 3 kids receive is always very good, they actually like going to Dr VG because it doesn't hurt. In medicine, sometimes things don't always go to plan and the Dr has to think on his feet and react, in these cases there is no one I trust more with my kids than Dr VG. We tried 3 different dentists before finding this one and we know we're in the right place. We've had one billing issue and one appt mix up issue in 8 years and each was handled quickly and professionally. Love Dr VG and his staff.
Load more