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45 Years of Service | 1972 - 2017 9 Dentists and hygienists are present at every CHC site. Gathering data and using it productively, is as important for dentistry as it is for all other aspects of CHC care. "We want to do more research," explains Chief Dental Officer Sheela Tummala, "so that we can continue to improve care." At CHC, that means comparing and contrasting data from different aspects of a person's health to explore whether there may be con- nections or causes that can be used to provide better care. Might there be a link between obesity and dental care, for example? Or perhaps differing impacts by age or frequency of treatments for cer- tain conditions. At CHC, the envelope of knowledge is always being extended, and dentistry is very much a part of those efforts. Education and training are ever present; some CHC locations have dentists completing their residencies. e caliber of care and CHC's pro-active approach is understandably attractive to future practitioners. CHC's capacity to extend oral health to children is quite impres- sive. e Mobile Dental Program brings fully-equipped mobile dental offices and skilled dental teams to more than 150 schools throughout Connecticut as well as to Women, Infant, Children (WIC) special supplemental nutrition program offices, Head Start programs, and daycare facilities across the state. e program offers education, teaching good oral hygiene hab- its; diagnosing, with hygienist screenings, dental exams and X-rays; prevention, including cleanings, fluoride treatments and sealants; and restoration, including cavity fillings. In-school appointments typically last no longer than 30 minutes. Always striving to do more, the ingenuity ingrained at CHC will lead to fresh advances, Tummala says, breaking new ground in the integration of oral health into overall health. at may mean if, during an exam, a patient appears to have a suspicious lesion, for example, the dentist can take a photograph and instantly send it electronically to a specialist through CHC's eConsult Network, rather than having the patient wait weeks to see that specialist. CHC is known for its accomplishments across the medical fields — dentistry included. "As a resident of Middletown's North End, I've seen first-hand the difference CHC makes in my community … CHC has earned well-deserved national attention for delivering the highest quality of care to underserved populations," observes State Representative Matthew Lesser, commending "an almost entrepreneurial culture of innovation that our state should celebrate." "Sometimes, children have had a bad past experience at a dentist. Because we offer dental care in their school, they switch to CHC. We provide a different touch — more education, and more motiva- tion," Tummala said. "Whenever there's a need, we're there." n "Dental is as much of a priority at CHC as medical and behavioral health. We often care for patients who have never been seen by a dentist." Amy Taylor, VP, Western Region