STORY: FREE FAMILY CARE

SCRIPT #536 SHOOT: 11/15 & 12/9/03

AIRDATE: Monday, Dec. 15, 2003

DHC Master #18 Timecode:

In this holiday season of giving, one

family receives the gift of good

oral health. And it’s a big gift because

it’s a big family.

Dr. Linda Niessen tells the story of

the Middleton family in today’s

Dental Health Check.

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MIDDLETON FAMILY TODAY

(VOICE-OVER)

For the 8^th year, the Middleton family does not

worry about paying for dental care.

They are a family of 13. With three children of their own, Karen and Mickey decided to adopt the other eight, all siblings from one family. Without this unique adoption, the brothers and sisters would have been split up.

In 1995, their story received local and

national publicity. “With just what you have everyday is what it would take to keep a family like this together. And there are many children in the system who would love the opportunity. And you don’t have to be wealthy.”

Every year, Dr. Bob Hunsucker, a family

dentist, and his staff spend an entire Saturday

with the Middleton children and parents.

At the end of the day, there is no bill to pay.

All services are free.

“And I thought, you know, with a 11 children,

I bet they need a dentist and so I contacted the local

news station and asked them to contact the Middleton’s. And they did and of course they needed a dentist and that’s how we got started.”

“Since Dr. Bob was so gracious, we all come on

a Saturday when the office is closed so we don’t

have to share with anyone. And we stay until we’re

finished.”

“Dr. Bob, to us, he’s more than just a dentist.

He’s family to us. And I think stepping out the

way he did is an honor to only to my family but

to me.”

All eleven children plus mother and father get a check-up, dental cleaning, and any treatment needed.

And for a family of 13, the rate of cavities is

extremely low.

They’re doing very well. We have very few cavities at all.”

This year, two of the 11 children could not make

the Saturday appointment. One son is in the Navy, another on a basketball team. The baby of the family, who is almost twelve, lost his last baby tooth--marking the end of a chapter in this large family’s oral health.

Now that the children are older, the parents

save money in one specific area. They no longer

need to pay for the services of a tooth fairy.

For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A & M

System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.