‘I like to share our culture’ | Dallas dentist does good with her constant ‘shoving’
After his day job, Dr. Dane Hoang shares his Vietnamese culture by selling homemade nước chấm. The money raised goes to his association to help the community.
DALLAS — Visits to Richardson’s dentist, Dr. Dane Hoang, leave a sweet taste. His patients – Dax and Daphne – choose their favorite toothpaste flavor: mint.
Dental offices can be intimidating, but even with floating tools, these kids love their pediatric dentist.
Hoang’s office is filled with colorful sunglasses, pastel painted walls, games, toys and more. She likes to live with sperm and flavor.
“For us, it’s always a fun color, a different flavor,” Hoang said.
When this dentist isn’t working on teeth, she keeps her hands busy.
“I really love dentistry, but my other passion is cooking,” Hoang said.
After work, she returns home to Dallas, where she makes her own Vietnamese sauce recipes called nước chấm. The flavors are a mix of sweet and salty. The ingredients are colorful and simple, including lemongrass, garlic and more.
“It’s like chemistry,” Hoang said. “I have my mom’s approval, let’s put it that way.”
Doing nước chấm reminds him of his home.
Hoang was born in Quy Nhon, Vietnam. She and her family came to the United States as refugees by boat. Dane was 8 years old, but his memories of 1979 are clear.
“I remember it. I remember it was so crowded and it was just a tight space. I couldn’t breathe,” Hoang said.
His family arrived in Texas, where his parents started over. She always clung to their courage and she always clung to her home in Vietnam.
“I love sharing our culture,” Hoang said.
In 2008, after Hoang established herself as a dentist, she returned to Vietnam as a doctor for Operation Smile. Since then, she has been a volunteer.
“Operation Smile is a non-profit organization that travels the world and provides free surgery for children who have facial deformities, such as cleft lip and cleft palate,” Hoang said.
For Hoang, being part of Operation Smile was not enough. She wanted to do more.
In 2017, she founded a charity with your daughter called Kids 4 Smiles. His organization works on local projects to help the DFW community, serving people who are homeless, but also supports Operation Smile. To raise funds for Kids 4 Smiles, she sells her tasty and colorful nước chấm. It stirs its history and culture while giving back to the community.
For Dr. Dane, all of this may not yet be enough to satisfy his desire to help.
“I call it a sideways scramble,” Hoang said. “I always come up with these projects,” she said. “Never give up. Either way, find your passion.”