Comprehensive dental services for low-income people long have been scarce in Maryland.  Until recently, HCH clients had few options for preventive or restorative dental care and only limited access to extraction services.  Most Maryland residents still remember Deamonte Driver, the 12-year-old homeless boy who died of a brain infection from an untreated tooth abscess.  That unfortunate event brought increased public attention to the deplorable lack of comprehensive dental services.      In 2009, with support from the Federal Bureau of Primary Health Care, HCH began offering dental services through Chase Brexton Health Services, Inc. and the University of Maryland Dental School.  For the first time, HCH clients gained access to comprehensive dental care.     Beginning in 2010, HCH will operate the first comprehensive dental program in Maryland designed to address the unique needs and life circumstances of adults and children experiencing homelessness.  HCH’s new clinic and headquarters at 421 Fallsway will include a three-chair dental suite staffed with a full-time dentist, oral hygienist, and dental assistant to provide an array of oral health care services for adults and children.  For more information, contact us at 410-837-5533 or info@hchmd.org.