MEET DR. SUSAN SARABIA-REYES, D.M.D., SPECIAL DENTISTRY EXPERT

​    Oral health is one of the most significant aspects of health living. It is also one of the greatest challenges experienced by persons with autism and their caregivers. The strange smells, loud noises, formidable-looking equipment, and especially the uncommon sensations during a dental visit (much less a dental treatment), make dental visits an especially fearsome experience for persons with autism. Dental visits are often put off for as long as possible, causing significant dental problems that require special expertise of the treating dentist. By the time some persons with autism first see the dentist, they have already developed serious dental problems that may even require surgery and hospitalization.

Dental care and treatment of persons with autism and other special conditions are areas of specialization that have been nurtured in her practice by Dr. Susan S. Reyes, D.M.D.  Dr. Reyes has accepted an agreement with AAAP to establish and maintain a Special Dentistry Clinic for A Special Place, the upcoming residential and work community to be located in Alfonso, Cavite, spearheaded by AAAP. Dr. Reyes’ background makes her uniquely positioned for this role. She is a passionate advocate of persons with special needs and that personal quality is buttressed by her training as a Doctor of Dental Medicine (Centro Escolar University, Manila, 1995), completion of a Master of Arts in Special Education (2011), and several years as a Dentist III and Training Officer with the Department of Hospital Dentistry at the Philippine Government’s Eastwood Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. She is one of a very few dentists in the Philippines who practices Special Care Dentistry. Recently, she traveled to North Carolina where she presented a workshop on the topic of “Dental Rehabilitation of Autistic Persons with Anemia and Tuberculosis “ at the 29th Annual Meeting on Special Care Dentistry. Welcome to the AAAP Family, Dr. Reyes!