Dr. Leon Chen, the family’s patriarch and a pioneer in dental implants, and Dr. Jennifer Cha, co-founder of an international clinic chain, have five children, Nina, Audree, Niq, Aleq and Nasdaq, all of whom have pursued careers in dentistry, according to the South China Morning Post.
The family drew online attention in 2023 when Niq began posting personal vlogs on his YouTube and TikTok, occasionally showing the family sharing one dinner table. A video he posted on Instagram in January introducing the family drew more than 92 million views.
Seven members of the Chen family (from left): Aleq, Audree, Jennifer, Leon, Nina, Nasdaq and Niq. Photo from Instagram/@niq |
Behind the online attention is a story shaped by persistence, mentorship and close family bonds.
Leon was born in 1966 in Changhua City, Taiwan, into a family of doctors. As a child, he was sent to the U.S. to live in a remote town in Michigan. In a 2012 memoir published in Taiwan, he says he remembered hiding in cornfields to cry because he felt alone and abandoned.
He completed four years of university in one, achieved the highest score on the Dental Admission Test in 10 years, and gained early admission to the Harvard School of Dental Medicine as one of its youngest students, on a full scholarship.
During his training at Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago, he developed techniques that became industry benchmarks after turning complex, year-long treatments into streamlined procedures.
Jennifer, born in South Korea and raised in the U.S., was a practicing periodontist when the two met in 1995. She had returned to Northwestern University when she noticed Leon and decided “to bring him back to Las Vegas”, where her practice was based.
They later established the Dental Implant Institute in 1998 and the OsseoFuse One Drill Implant System a decade later, both in Las Vegas. They say their greatest achievement is raising five children, each born a year apart, who all chose dentistry.
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Dr. Leon Chen, the family’s partriarch. Photo from Instagram/@drleonchen |
The couple encouraged their children to enroll directly in dental programs in Europe and all five began their education at the Universidad Europea de Madrid in Spain before pursuing advanced training in the U.S.
They say a 2014 family trip to Spain and the option to enter dental school immediately after high school, cutting four years from training, shaped their decision.
Nina, the eldest, completed postgraduate studies at New York University and specializes in periodontics and implant dentistry.
Audree pursued further training at Tufts University in Massachusetts, earning a postgraduate degree and a joint master’s in prosthodontics.
Niq trained at Columbia University in New York and also specializes in periodontics.
Aleq followed Audree to Tufts and focuses on prosthodontics.
The youngest, Nasdaq, completed postdoctoral training in implantology at New York University.
All five siblings have co-authored research papers, presented at international conferences and now work for OsseoFuse One Drill Implant System while completing residencies in different cities.
Leon and Jennifer say they did not follow strict parenting methods and their children all say they had a relaxed upbringing.
“People think our parents were really strict,” says Audree, now 28. “But they weren’t strict at all. They were more like our friends.”
“People on the internet may think our parents pushed or forced us to do all of this. If anything, our nanny was the one who taught us what was right and what was wrong,” Niq, 27, says.
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Niq Chen and his siblings. Photo from Instagram/@niq |
Nina, 29, says her parents introduce the siblings to dentistry naturally without pressure. At the dinner table, they showed photos of clinic cases, and on weekends, they practiced suturing on pig heads.
“In a way, I chose dentistry just because I wanted a reason to be closer to them,” Nina says.
They say any pressure to succeed came from among the siblings themselves.
“Having siblings all one year apart, all going towards the same profession, kind of pushed us to have this friendly, competitive dynamic where we actually kind of push each other to graduate and become where we are today,” Niq says.
“It’s so nice to see five of them sit together and study. Since grade school, and into high school, and then into college, they still sit together to study for the final exam. They just help each other,” Leon says.
Each of the siblings also has their own interest. Niq is keen on filmmaking. Nina enjoys baking. Audree is drawn to music while Nasdaq has a talent for cooking that Jennifer says could see him “end up opening a restaurant”.
They say that even without dentistry, their bond would remain unchanged. “Of course kids fight when they’re young. But in the end you’re born with four best friends,” Nasdaq says.
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