GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. - CHP Dental in Great Barrington has reopened after being closed for two years. On Tuesday, CHP Berkshires held a ribbon cutting for the facility they say will provide dental care in a part of the county where it is really needed. 

CHP Dental is one of the few dental offices accepting MassHealth and says they are one of only two in Berkshire County that accepts children with MassHealth.

“We’re a federally qualified community health center, which means that we not only get some federal funding to help us to provide the services that we provide," said Chief Executive Officer Bethany Kieley. "It also means that any patient can get care here regardless of their ability to pay regardless of whether they have insurance or don’t.” 

CHP Dental says they care for children as young as one and says about 6,500 patients in the Berkshires are children with MassHealth. The Great Barrington family dental has about 800 patients right now. 

Dr. Lina Bermudez says most of her patients in Great Barrington have MassHealth and has seen a need in the county for dental services.

“Eighty to 90% of our population is based on MassHealth insurance," Bermudez said. "So the need is absolutely there. It's more than half of our population needs dental services that can be covered by their insurance."

CHP had been using a mobile dental unit to bring access to residents in the southern part of county.

“Oral health is part of overall health and the two are linked in ways that often we forget," Kieley said. "We think of it as having our teeth cleaned or sort of preventive care, but good oral hygiene and dental care is really critical to everybody."