STORY: SAVE A SMILE

SCRIPT #533 SHOOT: 11/12/03

AIRDATE: Monday, Nov. 24, 2003

DHC MASTER #18 Timecode: 41:15

Daybreak and Midday In many Texas public schools, dental pain is the number one reason

children go to the school nurse.

Now, those nurses are helping children

get free treatment through a new

program in Tarrant County.

Dr. Linda Niessen has details in today’s

Dental Health Check.

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CLAUDIA IN DENTAL CHAIR (VOICE-OVER)

SUPER: Lake Worth :02-07 At age six, Claudia Gil sees a dentist

for the first time. She suffers from the

pain of having 13 cavities and one

abscessed tooth that required immediate attention.

Her dentist, Dr. Jack Morrow, explains

the diagnosis to Claudia’s mother.

SUPER: Voice of Dr. Jack Morrow (“This is the infection up in the bone

Save A Smile Program and its surrounding the permanent

:21-24 tooth. That’s why we need to get

this treated real quickly so that the

infection won’t damage that permanent

tooth.”)

SUPER: Dr. Dale Martin :30-35 (We let schools know that we’re here,

Save A Smile Program that we can be of assistance. And we

can get these kids in and hopefully keep them from being in too much pain.”

MORE DENTISTRY Dentists such as Dr. Dale Martin

and Dr. Morrow diagnose and treat

young patients for free. They

are among 32 dentists in the Fort

Worth area who participate in

a new program called “Save A Smile.”

SUPER: Dr. Tonya Fuqua :51-56 (“The Save A Smile mission is to keep

Save A Smile Program children cavity free and in school.”)

DR. FUQUA Leading the program is Dr. Tonya Fuqua

of Southlake.

DR. FUQUA (“We go in and we screen all elementary

children.”)

SCHOOL SCREENING So far, Save A Smile has screened

almost five thousand children. Dentists

found 500 young students who had

multiple cavities.

SUPER: Ginny Hickman (“So many kids have dental pain, dental

Cook Children’s Medical Center problems. It’s the largest cause of

1:14-1:19 absenteeism in the schools.”)

MORE SCREENING Cook Children’s Medical Center

supports Save A Smile. So do school nurses who work with a group called Communities in Schools.

HICKMAN (“Many of these children have not

seen a dentist before.”)

CLAUDIA Dr. Morrow was successful in

relieving young Claudia’s dental pain.

But it will take several more visits

to restore her health.

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP CLOSE)

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen Untreated tooth decay can be so painful

Baylor College of Dentistry that children can’t concentrate and

1:31-1:36 learn. So what’s at stake is not just kids’

health but also their education.

For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas

A & M System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen,

Channel 8 News.

OPTIONAL ANCHOR TAG (ANCHOR)

Save A Smile dentists are working with

five Fort Worth elementary schools.

They hope to expand the program by

recruiting more dentists who will treat

school children for free.