HDA Staff

Dr. Cordero came to the USA to go to medical school and become a surgeon. In his sophomore year he had a severe toothache for which his school sent him to a dentist in Bryn Mawr. That experience gave rise to a new interest in his life, dentistry. He admired the thoroughness of the exam and its accurate  diagnosis and resolution in less than 30 minutes.

He was the first Dentist to wear gloves and practiced universal infection controls in both of his two locations in the South Jersey areas..  His medical/dental perspective gave rise to curiosity and training in all areas of dentistry with a focus on healthy, long-term outcomes of Dentistry as a healing art.

His commitment to lifelong learning made him well known in many of the most important organizations in dentistry, his advanced training led him to be elected President of the Academy of General Dentistry after having been recognized as the President of the Academy of R.V. Tucker Study Clubs as well as one of its 29 global mentors.

Dr. Cordero has been the Executive Director and CEO of the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) since 2018. His experience and familiarity with education pioneers has given him the knowledge and tools that helped him place the HDA as a beacon of hope and a roadway to success for all those that are engaged in providing and contributing to the improvement of both oral health and overall health to Hispanics as well as other under-served communities.

Lydia M. Ruiz  has over 10 years of experience working with Dental Professionals. Prior to joining the HDA she was the Continuing Education Coordinator for the College of Dental Surgeons in Puerto Rico (CCDPR).

Throughout her 11 years of working at CCDPR she assisted in coordinating yearly programs for the Continued Education Committee, member compliance certifications for the State Dental Board, member platform services, and the organization’s Website.  She also coordinated the planning for the Dental Conference of the Caribbean, an annual event, in which over 2000 Oral Health professionals from the United States, the Caribbean including Puerto Rico and Latin America participated in. 

Lydia has a background in Accounting having worked as an Administrative Assistant for a large part of her professional career.

She is excited to be part of the Hispanic Dental Association family, and looks forward to contributing and enhancing the services we provide to our members.