Free Family Care
By Dr. Linda Niessen -- Baylor College of Dentistry STORY: FREE FAMILY CARE SCRIPT #536 SHOOT: 11/15 & 12/9/03 AIRDATE: Monday, Dec. 15, 2003
Monday, December 15, 2003
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 this week's Dental Health Check.
For the 8th 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," said Karen. "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 not 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, The Texas A & M Health Science Center, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.
Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.
