When you meet Dr. Azi Ardakani, you will immediately realize her love for children and her love for her work. She is full of energy and sparkles and her presence brightens up the room. Dr. Azi noticed this feeling early on in her life and has committed to that dream ever since she was a little girl playing with her UNICEF puzzles. Growing up in Orange County California, she developed a passion for healthcare and continued making this dream come true as she attended University of California Irvine receiving her Bachelor in Biological Science. She graduated top of her class and continued her education at UCLA School of Dentistry where she received her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. After becoming a proud DDS, she moved across country to continue her education in the field of Pediatric Dentistry and Child behavior. Dr. Azi received her Pediatric Dental residency certification as the Chief of her class from NYU college of Dental Medicine in New York. She stayed in touch with the academia and has been active as Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotions at NYU.
Dr. Azi loves promoting oral health to the children of the world and for that she participates in yearly volunteer missions, providing dental care to third world countries and children in need all over the world.
Dr. Azi is also present in the community of Southern California by conducting dental education and oral health workshops for children and their parents in schools individually and through UCLA outreaches. Dr. Azi is an active member of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Dental Association and California Dental Association.
She has been voted one of the most caring pediatric dentists by her peers in Orange County. She strives to create a modern, pain-free, Eco-friendly and comfortable environment at Little Heroes so that every child feels special and receives the out most amount of care in her/his visit to the dentist. After all, she truly believes Children are our Heroes, and shes committed to take good care of her Heroes.
Dr. Erica Wu was born in Orange County and grew up in both Taiwan and California. After completing high school in Northern California, she attended college in St. Louis before returning to California for dental school at The University of Southern California (Go Trojans!). At USC, she developed her love for pediatric dentistry through community outreach programs. Throughout dental school, she volunteered and operated several free clinics for the underserved children and adults in the Southern California area. She has also volunteered on several mission trips abroad in South America. After dental school, Dr. Erica went on to complete her specialty training in pediatric dentistry at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). While in Michigan, she also completed an additional year of training in treating adults with special needs.
After many years in the Midwest, Dr. Erica is happy to be back home in the Orange County area. When she is not busy serving our little heroes, she enjoys trying new recipes in the kitchen, playing games with family and friends, and traveling to new places. Dr. Erica is board certified by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and is excited to help your little ones achieve and maintain happy healthy smiles.
Kimberly started with Dr. Azi at little Heroes in 2016 before the doors were opened. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest before moving to sunny Southern California 27 years ago where she now resides with her beautiful family.
Kimberly will greet you with a big smile and a warm welcome when you walk through the front door. She will go above and beyond to make every parent and patient have the best experience possible, every visit. Her ability to make parents feel like they are family and not just a patient comes naturally because she truly loves her role at Little Heroes.