Claudia Lopez Silva

Dr Claudia Lopez Silva serves as Clinical Lecturer in Special Needs Dentistry and Discipline Lead for Special Needs Dentistry at the School of Dentistry, University of Queensland. She earned a Bachelor of Dentistry from Universidad de Antioquia, a Bachelor (Honours) of Dentistry from the University of Adelaide, and a Doctoral Diploma of Special Needs Dentistry from the University of Melbourne. Her academic and professional focus centers on special needs dentistry, encompassing oral health care for patients with disabilities, additional health care needs, autism spectrum disorder, and older adults in residential aged care facilities. Lopez Silva investigates barriers to dental care access, the application of teledentistry, silver fluoride agents for caries arrest and management, tooth discoloration effects, and interdisciplinary co-designed tools such as the Modified Oral Health Assessment Tool (M-OHAT) for aged care settings.

Throughout her tenure at the University of Queensland, Lopez Silva has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed publications, including 'Frequency and severity of post-procedure bleeding events following dental extractions completed in patients on heparin therapy' (Special Care in Dentistry, 2025), 'Specialists' perspectives on social stories in managing individuals with autism in the dental care setting' (Special Care in Dentistry, 2025), 'Tooth discoloration from 2 silver fluorides used in adults with special needs: a randomized trial' (JDR Clinical and Translational Research, 2025), 'A pilot study to assess the feasibility of real-time teledentistry in residential aged care facilities' (Healthcare, 2024), 'Laser fluorescence assessment of dental caries arrest with two silver fluoride agents in patients with special needs – a preliminary report' (Lasers in Medical Science, 2024), 'Singapore dentists' attitudes toward dental care provision for older adults with disabilities' (Gerodontology, 2024), 'Association between disability status and dental attendance patterns in Australian children: a national survey' (Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 2023), and 'Association between lack of dental service utilisation and caregiver-reported caries in Australian Indigenous children: A national survey' (Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2022). Her research is supported by significant funding, including NHMRC MRFF grants for 'Achieving Good Oral Health for Young People with Intellectual Disability is Everyone's Task' (2025-2029) and 'Oral Health in Aged Care: Addressing Oral Health Inequity and Unmet Dental Care Needs of Vulnerable Population' (2023-2027), as well as projects on silver fluoride effectiveness and oral care bundles in critical care. Lopez Silva has also released datasets such as the Interdisciplinary Co-designed Modified Oral Health Assessment Tool (M-OHAT) Training Material (2025) and co-authored works on oral management strategies.