The Haywood County Health Department will be able to expand dental services for the needy thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission

The money will be used to outfit and equip two additional dental exam rooms, one for dental hygine and one for dental work.

“We will be able to see approximately 2,000 more clients a year. It will mean more dental care for more people,” said Carmine Rocco, director of the Haywood County Health Department, who shared news of the grant at a Haywood County commissioners meeting this week.

The health department will hire an additional part-time dentist to meet the need.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal entity established in the 1960s to assist improvished communities in the Appalachians.