Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) on Thursday introduced a bill (HR 2371) that would expand access to dental care for children in community health centers, CQ HealthBeat reports. In addition, the legislation would establish a program to improve training in pediatric dentistry.

The lawmakers introduced the bill in response to a May 2 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing that "identified major failures in access to dental services for children on Medicaid," Cummings said. The bill, called "Deamonte's Law," is named after Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old Maryland boy who died after a tooth infection spread to his brain because he lacked access to dental care. Cummings said that the case highlights "a silent epidemic of dental disease ... plaguing our children" (CQ HealthBeat, 5/18).