Unbreakable Bonds

***This story appears in the UCLA School of Dentistry's Spring 2023 Magazine***

Tiffany Kim’s story exemplifies the many deep connections formed within the UCLA School of Dentistry.

The third-year D.D.S. candidate is the daughter of Steven Kim, D.D.S. ’90, a successful private practice general dentist in Riverside, Calif.

She’s also the sister of Ryan, who, at 26 months, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. It was difficult for Tiffany, three years Ryan’s elder, to watch her brother’s normal stages of early childhood development regress rapidly.

“I remember very distinctly there was a point where he knew how to count from one to 10; we were all cheering him on in the car as he was reciting it,” she recalled. “Then, within the next six months, his language significantly regressed. And by the time he was diagnosed with autism, he was completely nonverbal."

For the past 18 years, Ryan has undergone significant speech and behavioral therapy – including at UCLA’s Center for Autism Research and Treatment – and is now able to verbalize his wants and needs. However, as is typical for those with moderate to severe autism, Ryan’s anxiety is heightened in new environments, reacting strongest in institutional settings like a dental office.

It became apparent that the Kims couldn’t keep Ryan’s oral health care in the family.

“I have a lot of respect for the kind of dentistry my dad does. He has a small family practice that everyone in the community comes to see,” Tiffany said. “But he really doesn't have the training or staff or equipment necessary to handle my brother.”

A decade ago, Dr. Kim reconnected with his fellow UCLA School of Dentistry Class of 1990 alumnus Eric Sung, D.D.S. As chair of the School’s Section of Special Patient Care, Dr. Sung welcomed Ryan into his clinic. It is one of the region’s few oral health care centers providing advanced comprehensive general dentistry for patients with severe medical, physical, and mental challenges.

“Since autism is a spectrum, you identify what the patient’s triggers are and go from there. For some it’s light, some it’s sound, some may be other types of sensory,” said Dr. Sung, who holds the Momentum Endowed Chair in Special Patient Care. “Recently we had a young individual whose trigger is other young children; as you can see, it is quite variable.”

Tiffany does not have fond memories of her brother’s first visit to UCLA Special Patient Care; Ryan was screaming, grabbing the walls, and had to be administered a sedative to help him relax. However, Dr. Sung’s professionalism and dedication to his patients made her want to learn more about the Clinic.

She started volunteering there at age 14, continuing through high school as her schedule allowed, assisting with clerical work and absorbing Dr. Sung’s knowledge of different patients and their conditions.

“I remember one patient, he was deaf and blind, and he had a device to type out his responses,” Tiffany said. “I kept him company and texted with him during his appointment. That interaction really stood out because I thought, ‘there's a population here that I feel comfortable being around and I feel like I can do something for.’”

Despite family ties to dentistry and her profound experiences in Dr. Sung’s clinic, Tiffany chose to enroll in the premedicine track at Claremont-McKenna College (CMC). Her undergraduate decision was motivated, in part, by CMC’s renowned on-campus autism clinic as well as being close to home to assist with Ryan’s care.

It was during twice-weekly shifts in the Claremont Autism Center that Tiffany began contemplating a switch to dentistry. After talking to families, she learned most hadn’t taken their children with autism to the dentist since an early age, given what a scary, weighty environment it can be.

“I realized what I loved about my dad’s practice is that patients grew with him; one of them now works as one of his assistants,” she said. “So many kids with autism or even adults with autism don’t have dentists who feel comfortable seeing them, so I wondered if that’s something I could do. There are kids [from the autism center] I still talk to who are waiting for me to become a dentist so I can treat them!”

Knowing she has a pool of future patients as eager to see her as she is to treat them motivates Tiffany to fully embrace the UCLA dental student experience. In year one, she joined the Special Patient Care Club (SPCC), founded by Jonina Capino, D.D.S., ’22. An older sister to two siblings with autism, Dr. Capino is currently engaged in a general practice residency at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, further training her to serve this patient population.

Taking over as SPCC president this academic year, Tiffany has helped ensure a robust event calendar of learning opportunities from established practitioners. One was an event with Dr. Joe Samona, who operates a successful practice despite suffering from bilateral profound hearing loss. The club also organized a holiday card-writing campaign, delivering these messages to hospitalized children.

“Our club’s goal is to increase understanding, awareness, and empathy for this population. As you can imagine, this population is incredibly underfunded and underserved,” said Tiffany, who was justly recognized with the 2023 Shapiro Family Endowed Scholarship for Special Patient Care.

Tiffany envisions a professional path that merges her father’s career with that of her mentor’s, Dr. Sung. Next year she plans to apply for a general practice residency, which will prepare her to treat individuals like Ryan in a community setting.

“During our time in the SPCC, Dr. Capino introduced me to the idea of seeing special needs patients in private practice. That is so vital, both to meet patients where they’re most comfortable and to alleviate the huge caseloads that places like UCLA’s Special Patient Care Clinic have.”

Connect with the UCLA Special Patient Care Club on Instagram