Doctor of Dental Surgery, Loma Linda University 2002 Bachelor of Sciences, Biology, UC Irvine, 1997 Dentist, Saddleback Local Peace, Independencia, Mexico, 2004-2008 Asst Adj Professor, Loma Linda University, Dental Education Services, 2003-2005
I was born in February of 1975 in Saigon, Vietnam. Saigon was to fall to the Communists less than three months later. On that fateful day, my parents took a three-month old baby, a couple hundred dollars, and some baby formula onto a US Navy barge. They left everything behind, for a foreign country on the other side of the ocean and the other side of the world.
We were Vietnam war refugees. The army took us to Guam, then Fort Chafee. A local church, San Juan Capistrano Presbyterian, sponsored our family and got us a small apartment in San Clemente. My dad started out as a dishwasher. My mom sewed clothes for years. We had a lot of help from local church members, driving us, teaching us english, and giving us clothes. A few years later, my parents had learned English, had good jobs, and a house. Depending on how you see the world, either there was a little bit of God, or a whole lot of luck involved.
We moved to Mission Viejo with my uncles family sometime before I was 4. My first language was, naturally, Vietnamese. I entered preschool knowing only one English word: No. Fortunately, I learned English very quickly. By 1st or 2nd grade, Vietnamese became my second languagenow I speak English like an American, and Vietnamese like, well, an American.
I graduated with honors from Capistrano Valley High School in 1993, then UC Irvine (BS in Biology) in 1997. I learned lots of facts, some useful, some not. Somewhere in there I figured out that I was a nerd. I got involved in youth leadership when my core group leader, Bob Hull, said You know a lot of Bible, you should be an assistant (core group leader). That was the beginning of over a dozen years in youth ministry. It was also during this time period that I discovered what still are my favorite hobbies: photography, web site design, music, snowboarding, skating and cycling.
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry was really where everything started to come together. Lots of long hard hours with the same class of 90 people for four years, and you get very close. After 12 years of schooling, I finally figured out how to be popular and even got elected as student council treasurer. It was four years where I worked hard and played hard. I also had the uniquehonor of my life-size picture permanently mounted to the main lecture hallwith a mask on my face Four years later, I wasa volunteer faculty member at LLUSD, taking dental students on trips to do their first fillings and extractions.
I spent my journeyman years being a dentist in far off places like Valencia and Crestline. I would always come home to visit family and friends on weekends. After some hard life lessons, and 60,000 miles on my three year old car, I decided that it was time to put down roots. I moved back home, and started regularly attending Saddleback Church. As I started to get more involved, (thats me below on a Mexico mission trip) I knew that I had found my niche here in South Orange County. After an exhaustive search, I ended up opening an office just a few minutes from where I grew up all these years. Sometimes things do come around full circle.
I married my lovely wife, Catherine, in 2009. Yes, I think shes very pretty, too. Our honeymoon was my first two week vacation in four years. Hopefully, it wont be our last. After a year of house searching, we now live in nearby Trabuco Canyon.
If you attend Saddleback Church, you might have seen me playing guitar at the former Ohana venue, on a mission trip with Health Care ministry, or on assignment with PICS. I teach a couple times a year for the Photography Basics group at Saddleback. One thing Ive learnedthe campus onlyseems large. As you get to know people over the years, its hard to visit on the weekends without bumping into someone you know. Maybe someday it will be you
But most of the time, the two of us havebeen very, very busy taking care of our two precious little children. These days, I tell folks my life is Work, kids, repeat. Gretchen Rubin said it better than most: The days are long, but the years are short. As hard as I may work on quality dentistry,its even harder work building a good family. As any parent will tell you, kids and family bring thebest joy you can have. No matter how hard of a day Ihave at the office, theres nothing like your wife, son or daughter bringing a smile to your face.
Tina will be your first point of contact. Her caring attitude, understanding approach, and trusting advice embodies our family dentistry values. Tinas warm demeanor, sparkling personality, and beautiful smile truly lights up our lobby! She looks forward to meeting you!
When getting your teeth cleaned, there is no one more meticulous, thorough, and detailed. Ginas dental experience is only matched by her gentle and caring persona. Her efficiency will have you on your way before you can say, Best cleaning ever!
Dr. Vu Le opened his dental office on October 5th, 2005. There were exactly two patients on the schedule, and no other tenants in the building. He didnt know the Great Recession was coming, but it was arguably one of the worst times to start a practice from scratch. Ten years later, the practice has literally grown almost a thousand fold from that humble day. Some people came in for special promotional offers, some from web searches, but the great majority of our new patients are referred from other satisfied customers. We are grateful for the support of the community that got us through some historically tough times.
Family Dentistry with Purpose was, and still is, the official tagline of the office. Initially, it was a subtle tie in to Saddleback Church, which Dr. Le attended since 1997. He likes to joke that they put the fun in fundamentalism. We are honored to be serving families from all walks of life from Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita for almost ten years now.
The guiding purpose of our practice is the universal ethic of reciprocity, better known as love your neighbor as yourself or do onto others as yourself. We want to treat you as we would like to be treated. That means conservative dental treatment, convenient hours, comfortable facilities, and compassionate staff. Our patients value our honesty, technology and friendliness.
Reviews
Rating 4.9 out of 5 based on 128 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestCarolyn Baker
a year ago
Excellent experience.
Bob Harris
a year ago
I was so impressed with the friendliness, skill, and attention given by everyone in this office. I HIGHLY recommend using their services.
Kim Blank
a year ago
Dr. Le is great! He id friendly and let's you know everything he is doing and goes over all your options. Excellent service!
Danielle Willis
a year ago
I go every 7 weeks to get new aligner trays, and every time I go it's always a great experience. Dr. Le and his staff are awesome. Susan especially always welcomes me and responds quickly whenever I message the office. I am looking forward to my next visit.
Grace Scott
a year ago
Dr. Vu Le did major dental restoration work for me in 2022. He did an awesome job I am fully satisfied with the results. He is great at customization and honest with his suggestions. I am all "Smiles with Simple Tooth". The staff are very attentive, professional, efficient and kind. Nothing more I can ask for. Grace Scott
Alex O.
2 years ago
This is the best dentist in Orange County. You won't find a more relaxed and fun dental experience than the simple tooth. I love going to the dentist now!
Tawnya Holland
2 years ago
The whole staff goes above and beyond to make me feel comfortable. I'm so happy to have found them
Joshua Axner
2 years ago
Dr Lee is fantastic, full stop. He knows how to utilize current technology as a true advantage, rather than as 'shiny new toys'. Dr Lee and his staff are always extremely pleasant to interact with. They work with confidence and mastery while keeping things quite comfortable for complainers like me (lol). Very happy patient/customer for many years and will continue for many years to come.
Charlene Saunders
2 years ago
Today was my first visit after tooth extractions and fitting of partials for upper and lower. As I had an addional extraction my lower will require an additional impression. Upper partial was adjusted. Dr Le always is considerate of his patients concerns. I was able to leave with my upper partial in place to make me presentable.
Yen Bui
2 years ago
He Cracked My Tooth 3 months prior to coming here, I was going to another dentist who said my gums were receding but I didn't have any cavities. When I came to Simple Tooth, the doctor told me I needed 8 fillings. I thought ok, that is a lot, but maybe the previous dentist did not catch them, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. While he was doing a filling, he was having a difficult time due to my Invisalign brackets. He had to improvise with what he had, and he ended up cracking the tooth! Afterwards, he told me what had happened, said he wasn't sure how deep the crack went, he already put in the filling, and to just see how it goes. Well ever since then, I've been getting worsening pain in that tooth whenever I bite down on something hard. I thought maybe it was my Invisalign causing the discomfort, but it's only that one tooth so now I'm sure it is the crack. I wish he would not have even attempted to fill that tooth until after my Invisalign was done, knowing that it was going to be a complicated procedure. He only did 3 fillings at this point, I did not let him finish the rest. Needless to say, I am going to a different dentist now. Update: My new dentist did not find any cavities, so I probably did NOT have 8 cavities as Dr. Le insisted.
Maria Hauk
2 years ago
Dr. Vu is so kind and professional. They accommodated same day appointment due to a severe pain. He took all the measures to confirm the appropriate treatment was provided.
Brian Kang
3 years ago
Over-diagnoses and over-charges. Beware
Charlene Saunders
3 years ago
Today was my first visit after tooth extractions and fitting of partials for upper and lower. As I had an addional extraction my lower will require an additional impression. Upper partial was adjusted. Dr Le always is considerate of his patients concerns. I was able to leave with my upper partial in place to make me presentable.
Yen Bui
3 years ago
He Cracked My Tooth 3 months prior to coming here, I was going to another dentist who said my gums were receding but I didn't have any cavities. When I came to Simple Tooth, the doctor told me I needed 8 fillings. I thought ok, that is a lot, but maybe the previous dentist did not catch them, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. While he was doing a filling, he was having a difficult time due to my Invisalign brackets. He had to improvise with what he had, and he ended up cracking the tooth! Afterwards, he told me what had happened, said he wasn't sure how deep the crack went, he already put in the filling, and to just see how it goes. Well ever since then, I've been getting worsening pain in that tooth whenever I bite down on something hard. I thought maybe it was my Invisalign causing the discomfort, but it's only that one tooth so now I'm sure it is the crack. I wish he would not have even attempted to fill that tooth until after my Invisalign was done, knowing that it was going to be a complicated procedure. He only did 3 fillings at this point, I did not let him finish the rest. Needless to say, I am going to a different dentist now. Update: My new dentist did not find any cavities, so I probably did NOT have 8 cavities as Dr. Le insisted.
Kim Blank
3 years ago
Dr. Le is great! He id friendly and let's you know everything he is doing and goes over all your options. Excellent service!
Maria Hauk
3 years ago
Dr. Vu is so kind and professional. They accommodated same day appointment due to a severe pain. He took all the measures to confirm the appropriate treatment was provided.
Tami Trinh
3 years ago
Love to come to Dr. Vu Le for my dental care. Gina was always so gentle for my teeth cleaning. No pain at all. Laser was great. Staffs are very friendly and helpfull. Always felt completly clean teeth afterward. Thank you !
Pam Palmer
3 years ago
Dr. Le diagnosed and offered multiple options for my cracked tooth and took care of it on the same day in 2 hours. Very pleasant doctor and staff.
Cathy Vy
3 years ago
Always a pleasure coming in! Super quick, friendly service.
Brian Kang
3 years ago
Over-diagnoses and over-charges. Beware
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