Meet Dr. Rivera

Reynaldo Rivera, DDS

Dr. Rivera grew up in nearby Oak View, and graduated from Nordhoff High School in Ojai, where he played football, basketball and baseball. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) before moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to complete both dental and medical school at The University of Michigan. He stayed at The University of Michigan to complete both his general surgery training and residency in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at this world-renowned institution. While in Ann Arbor, he gained immense clinical knowledge in medicine, surgery, anesthesia, head and neck oncology, reconstruction, and microvascular surgery. After completing his formal training, he elected to pursue additional fellowship training in Craniofacial Surgery and Pediatric Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he further elevated his insight into treating complex pediatric conditions, such as craniosynostosis, cleft lip and palate, and pediatric head and neck tumors. His clinical passions include comprehensive surgical care from birth to adulthood for children with cleft lip and palate and craniofacial differences, orthognathic surgery (jaw reconstruction), facial trauma, complex bone grafting, dental implants, head and neck pathology, aesthetic surgery, dermal filler and BOTOX® injecting, as well as computer-assisted virtual surgical treatment planning. He is on staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Ventura County Medical Center and Lompoc Valley Medical Center.

Dr. Rivera is extremely honored for the privilege of being your surgeon. He is very aware of the fact that his patients place their trust in him, particularly parents who trust his knowledge and surgical skills in the care of their children, which is something he takes very seriously. Dr. Rivera loves to teach and is an Instructor in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at UCLA School of Dentistry, and has been a Clinical Instructor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology, and he is a proud Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has a Certification of Added Qualification by the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery. He is active in lecturing around the country on a variety of surgical, medical, and dental topics has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles. He is also involved in cleft lip and palate mission trips to Mexico, Honduras and around the globe, and is part of the VCMC cleft team. He is an active peer-reviewer for the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. He has earned numerous honors throughout his career, which is a reflection of his commitment to his patients. Dr. Rivera strives to not only be amongst the top surgeons in Southern California, but amongst the top surgeon in the world.