Lu Peter DDS

Dr Lu is as all the reviews has said a no muss no fuss dentist with a straight forward demeanor and a good bedside manner. Unfortunately Mia no longer works for Dr Lu but the new staff is just as friendly and courteous. I’d recommend Dr Lu for anyone looking for a great dentist on the Westside.

excellent service, they took really good care of my teeth here. and were not money grabbers like most dentists in L.A. I didn’t have any unnecessary work done here, and they took good care of my kids teeth too. Mia the receptionist is a lovely patient women, who put up with my rowdy toddlers in the waiting area, and always made sure i had my next appointment. All the staff were caring and friendly. Wish i could take them to be my dentist in Arizona.

Like Snowden B., I too try to come here from out of state even though L.A. hasn’t been my home for a good while. I’ve had Judy clean my teeth since maybe the early 90’s or even late 80’s, and I followed her to Dr. Lu when the prior dentist she worked with retired. I’d still have her work on me when I come back to the area to visit. Constantly solid work. She lays down the law when it comes to not flossing, but it’s often deserved.
Dr. Lu has an amazingly gentle touch (the tiny hands do help). Being a fan of East Asian culture, I’m able to connect with him on a personal level as well. He’s been honest with his assessments of my teeth and has never recommended anything more than fillings. I call his office and continue to seek advice from him on the toothbrushes/​toothpaste/​whitening strips that will work best for me.
Mia the receptionist is a sweetheart. Perhaps the reason she checks in so frequently to schedule an appointment is because they care about your teeth? I’m quite the jaded cynic myself and find it hard to trust people like doctors and auto mechanics, but I have a tough time believing anyone here is being dishonest and calling up patients just to gouge some money out of them.
The décor is sterile but for a fish tank, but I really hope that wouldn’t be an issue to anyone.
I’m a cheap-​ass when it comes to paying for parking, and parking is a bit of a pain if you don’t want to pay (I recall either no validation or not being fully validated the last time I used the accompanying lot, but that was years ago and things may have changed). Look for a spot on side streets to the south, but it could be quite a walk, especially on the days there are street-​sweeping. Consult with Mia on your options there.
If Dr. Lu was able to be my lifelong dentist, I would’ve been very grateful for that.

As several others have said, Dr Lu is everything you want in a dentist.
No frills office, and straight forward discussion about your teeth.
Which can go both ways. I once went in with incredible tooth pain. DR Lu said you need a root canal now. I was like well usually Mondays are good, but he told me now means now and he had already scheduled an appointment for me with a surgeon across the street.
Other times I have come in with pain, thinking I’ll need a root canal and he says you will, but you can wait. Or it’s really this or that. Simpler solutions than you’d expect.
Or if something is hurting I will call and he’ll usually invite me in just to double check his work.
Mia the office manager is a sweet old lady, which can be frustrating to a fast paced connected millenial, but when you are in a heckuva lotta pain, you don’t want to download an app to find a dentist based on algorithms and location, you kinda want a sweet old lady to empathize with you and squeeze you in.
Everything about the practice is simple. It feels like a small town store, like a baker who just wants to make good bread, or a carpenter whose passion is building good furniture. DR Lu is a dentist who just wants to do good dental work. And he does.

I just want to put in an unconditionally good word for Dr. Lu, who I’ve been seeing for over a decade now.
After I received a cursory exam from another dentist and was told that I needed three fillings replaced with crowns, and «possible root canal on all three,» my boss recommended I see his dentist, Dr. Lu. He said Dr. Lu put a strong emphasis on preventive care and preferred watchful waiting over radical interventions – which sounded a whole lot better to me than the $ 6,000 estimate I’d gotten from the other guy! (And $ 6,000 was JUST the amount not covered by my insurance, by the way. I was basically being asked to put a nice used car’s worth of money in my mouth, chew it up, and swallow it.)
Feeling awfully suspicious of LA dentists at this point, I didn’t mention the previous diagnosis when I went in for my first visit. Whereas the other guy let technicians do all the X-​rays and intake evaluations, and just came in at the end to peer into my mouth for less than a minute, Dr. Lu was actively involved from the second I sat down in the chair. He did a full set of X-​rays, and the most thorough soft-​tissue exam I’ve ever gotten from a dentist – he looked for anything abnormal or worrisome on my tongue, lips, gums, cheeks, and jaw. Wow, did I feel better cared for already! He took the time to point out some of the unique features of my teeth and previous crown and filling work that would have an impact on daily cleaning and care, and gave full and thoughtful answers to all my questions.
I had one big filling, he said, that was cracked, with some decay underneath it, and the remaining tooth structure was too weak to replace it with a bigger filling, so I’d need a crown on that, but he didn’t recommend anything else. When I asked, «So…do I need a root canal on that tooth?» Dr. Lu looked surprised and said, «No, not at all. Why? Are you in pain? Does that tooth hurt?» I can’t tell you what feeling was stronger at that point: My relief and joy at having found a truly good dentist, or my outrage that the other guy I’d seen would be so unscrupulous as to suggest not one but THREE unnecessary – and very painful, and very expensive – dental procedures!
Since that day, I’ve seen Dr. Lu regularly, even working in the occasional visits to him when I was been living in another state and came to LA for work trips. I’ve referred over a dozen people to him now, and every single one has stuck with him and started referring THEIR friends, too! He’s really great, and I can’t recommend him highly enough. Once you go Lu, your search for a good dentist is through!
P. S. I got my other X-​rays back, along with a written estimate from the other dentist, and filed a complaint against him with the state dental board. I am happy to say that he is no longer practicing in LA.

I’m way overdue for an appointment, but I’ve been going here since 2006, when both my boss and my co-​worker recommended Dr. Lu to me. Dr. Lu is pleasant, gentle, knowledgeable, and always gives me a thorough, easy-​to-​understand explanation of all of my options. He recommended a great oral surgeon when I needed a tooth pulled a few years ago (and they’re both fellow Bruins, even better!) and I always trust his recommendations.
Yes, the office staff likes to do follow-​up calls pretty often, and yes, this is a no-​frills, clean office and lobby and not a fancy Beverly Hills one, but I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Dr. Lu. I’ve always been happy with his work, and with his hygienists and staff. It’s pretty easy to find parking on Federal too.

I don’t know what’s with all the other reviews here, but Dr. Lu is exactly what you want in a dentist: ultra clean office, good, solid, careful, PAINLESS work and none of the fuss. I’ve been going here for years, after going to Kevin Sands in Beverly Hills and being told I need fillings in perfectly healthy teeth. Dr. Lu takes most insurance and he’s so gentle. I’m a total p*ssy when it comes to the dentist, and he’s meticulous and IT DOESN’T HURT. Now sure, there are no zen gardens or waterfalls or décor plucked from the clearance section of your local TJ Maxx, but the work is solid, very reasonably priced and no-​fuss. If you’re going for a cleaning, definitely request Betty, she’s a great hygenist and super sweet.

I just had a first-​time appointment here, and like the previous poster said, they do solid work and get the job done, but other than that there really isn’t much to rave about. I didn’t have the unpleasant experience of getting harrassed to schedule the next appointment (yet) or about the state of my teeth (and I did have 2 new cavities). I’d probably go back.

They do decent work here, but there’s two big reasons I’ll never come back here again. 1) Like most dentists, Peter made me feel like less than upstanding person for not keeping my teeth in perfect condition, and 2) The office manager Mia will harass you to no end in calling you to schedule your next appointment. But aside from those things, I don’t really have a problem with their performance.
I was able to get an appointment fairly quickly and they usually have openings every week. Their office is clean and pleasant. Staff is nice. They hire a couple outside hygienists to do cleanings. They’re nice and do their job. They make do with two rooms, one for cleaning and one for more complicated issues.
OK I’ll admit, I hadn’t gone to the dentist in a couple years. Am I alone? I doubt it. I just don’t see teeth as being at the top of my priority list when I’ve got lots of other stuff going on in my life. I think I’m the norm. This dentist, Peter, and his office manager Mia never make me feel very welcome and always seem to be on my back to come see them again. In fact they seem to lament the fact that I’m making their job harder, not that they appreciate me taking time out of my schedule to come see them. I realize that they are trying to take care of my teeth, but it feels more like they’re aggressively marketing in the league with financial advisors and insurance salesmen. Upon my first appointment, Peter examined my teeth and then read aloud to his assistant and anyone else listening the quality of each gum above each tooth. «Wow this patient has a lot of 5’s. 5! 5! 4! 3! 5!» etc. I thought it was demoralizing. But they got my teeth taken care of and made sure to give me lots of samples. «We can schedule your next appointment in a month,» says Mia the grandmotherly looking office manager. I think to myself, «A month! Why? Do you think I can just take half days all the time?» So I reply, «Oh well I’ll have to check my schedule and give you a call when I’m ready.» OK so I went on my way. I week later I get a voice mail from Mia asking me to call her and schedule my appointment. Of course being a person that doesn’t put much emphasis on my teeth I say, «oh I’ll call her back later.» Next day, another call another message. This time I’m a little perturbed that she can’t give me a few days to get back to her. Next day, another call another message! Now I’m just mad. I’m purposely not calling back because this is now crossing the line into harassment. Eight business days later, I have received 8 new voice mails asking and sometimes slightly berating me for not calling back. Finally the calls stop for now. Then I get a call in a week from then. Then a month. Then 6 months! That was about a year ago. I’m never going back.