History

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH) Secretary John Colmers established the Maryland Dental Action Coalition (MDAC) in 2007 as the Dental Action Committee (DAC) following the death of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year old Maryland boy enrolled in Medicaid, who died from an untreated tooth infection that spread to his brain. The DAC was charged with developing recommendations to increase access to oral health care for all Maryland children.  Implementation of the recommendations improved the delivery of oral health care services and established Maryland as a national model in oral health care by making comprehensive dental services available to low-income children on a regular basis.

In 2010, the DAC became the Maryland Dental Action Coalition, an independent 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.