The University of Maryland School of Dentistry has agreed to serve as the dedicated dental home for roughly 1,400 children and teens in Baltimore's foster care system, under a new partnership with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services announced in July 2026. The school's Pediatric Dentistry Clinic will provide routine cleanings, X-rays, decay treatment, and emergency care, giving one of the hardest to reach groups of children a single, consistent place for dental care.
Foster children move often, switch caseworkers, and frequently lose track of medical records along the way. Dental care is usually the first routine to break. The Baltimore agreement is an attempt to fix that by tying every child in the city's foster system to one clinic that keeps their history, tracks their treatment, and follows them from a first cleaning to any emergency that comes up.
What are the key facts about the Baltimore foster care dental partnership?
- About 1,400 foster youth in Baltimore will now have the University of Maryland School of Dentistry Pediatric Dentistry Clinic as their dental home. Source: University of Maryland, July 15, 2026.
- Roughly 35 percent of children and teens enter foster care with significant dental and oral health problems. Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2026.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that every child entering foster care receive a dental evaluation within 30 days of placement. Source: American Academy of Pediatrics.
- The agreement was signed in May 2026, with care expected to begin in the summer of 2026. Source: University of Maryland.
What exactly did the University of Maryland and Baltimore agree to?
They agreed that the dental school will act as the single dental provider for children in Baltimore City foster care. The University of Maryland School of Dentistry, known as UMSOD, signed the agreement with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, or BCDSS, in May 2026 and expects to begin seeing children over the summer. Under the arrangement, the school's Pediatric Dentistry Clinic delivers preventive visits, cleanings, X-rays, decay management, and urgent care, and BCDSS funds a part time faculty site director and a staff liaison role, along with costs that go beyond what Medical Assistance already covers.
The partnership is led by Vineet Dhar, a clinical professor in the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, with Shari Kohn serving as site director and Erica Caffrey, the pediatric clinic director, providing clinical oversight. Mark A. Reynolds, the dean of the dental school, and Brandi Stocksdale, director of BCDSS, signed off on the arrangement between the two institutions.
Why do foster children have such high dental needs?
Foster children have high dental needs because their care is repeatedly interrupted before and during placement. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, about 35 percent of children and teens enter foster care with significant dental and oral health problems, ranging from early childhood bottle tooth decay in the youngest children to multiple untreated cavities and bite problems in older ones. Many arrive with conditions that were never diagnosed, or were diagnosed and never treated, because no adult was consistently responsible for booking and keeping their appointments.
The core problem is continuity. A child who changes homes may also change caseworkers, insurers, and dentists, so a treatment plan started in one place is rarely finished in the next.
"The continuity of care is the first thing that breaks for children in foster care," said Vineet Dhar, the clinical professor leading the partnership at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.
What is a dental home and why does it matter here?
A dental home is a single, ongoing relationship between a child and one dental provider that covers all of that child's oral health care over time. The idea, promoted by both the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is that a child does better when one clinic holds the full record, knows the history, delivers preventive care on schedule, and is the first call in an emergency. For a population that moves as often as foster youth, a fixed dental home replaces a scattered trail of one time visits with a place that expects them back.
This matters in Baltimore because the alternative is the pattern the new program is designed to end. Without a dental home, a foster child's decay is often caught late, treated partially, and then lost to follow up when the child moves again. Anchoring all 1,400 children to one clinic means the school can track who is due for a checkup, who started treatment that was never finished, and who needs to be seen right away.
How will the program work day to day?
The program will work through a dedicated site director and clinic team who manage the foster caseload inside the existing Pediatric Dentistry Clinic. Because BCDSS is funding a part time faculty site director and a staff liaison, there is a named person responsible for scheduling, records, and communication with caseworkers, which is exactly the role that usually goes missing for these children. The department also agreed to cover costs above what Medical Assistance pays, so treatment is less likely to stall over coverage gaps.
For dental students and residents at the school, the arrangement doubles as training in caring for children with complex histories and higher needs, the kind of experience that shapes how the next generation of pediatric dentists practices.
What does this mean for families outside Baltimore?
For families outside Baltimore, the lesson is that a dental home is worth setting up on purpose, not by accident. Any child benefits from having one dentist who keeps the full record and sees them on a regular schedule, and that is especially true for children in kinship care, adoption, or any situation where routines have been disrupted. The same principle showed up in recent research on why the highest risk children often miss the programs meant for them, covered in our report on how school dental programs miss the kids who need them most.
Parents and guardians who want to establish a dental home can start with a local pediatric dentist and simply keep returning to the same practice. Families can browse verified pediatric practices such as Hurst Pediatric Dentistry in Hurst, Texas, or Super Kids Dental in Riverside, California, through the listings on Smile Listing, then book a first visit and set a standing six month schedule.
How does foster youth oral health compare to the general recommendation?
| Measure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Children entering foster care with significant dental problems | About 35 percent | American Academy of Pediatrics, 2026 |
| Recommended first dental evaluation after placement | Within 30 days | American Academy of Pediatrics |
| Baltimore foster youth covered by the new dental home | About 1,400 | University of Maryland, July 2026 |
| Recommended routine checkup schedule for children | Every six months | American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry |
Frequently asked questions
Who is providing dental care for Baltimore's foster children now?
The University of Maryland School of Dentistry Pediatric Dentistry Clinic is the designated dental home for about 1,400 children and teens in Baltimore City foster care, under a partnership with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services signed in May 2026, with care beginning in summer 2026.
What is a dental home?
A dental home is an ongoing relationship between a child and one dental provider who delivers all of that child's oral health care over time, holds the full record, provides preventive care on schedule, and serves as the first point of contact in an emergency.
How soon should a child in foster care see a dentist?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that every child and teen entering foster care receive a dental evaluation within 30 days of placement, because many arrive with undiagnosed or untreated oral health conditions.
How can a family set up a dental home for their own child?
Choose one local pediatric or family dentist, book a first visit, and keep returning to the same practice on a regular schedule, generally every six months, so one provider holds the full history and catches problems early.
Updated July 2026. Sources: University of Maryland School of Dentistry news, July 15, 2026; American Academy of Pediatrics, Oral Health Needs of Children in Foster Care; American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Primary sources: University of Maryland School of Dentistry announcement and the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on oral health for children in foster care.
