A search of the dental office where a child died this past April revealed an office that didn’t follow mandatory safety practices. Detectives who searched Cuddle Kids Dental Care in Fort Worth found syringes with varying levels of leftover medication located in a box in the office.
Investigation Findings
Chrishelle Hemphill, 48, who was arrested this week after 4-year-old Aithana Arriaga died at the office in April, told investigators the office would reuse medication from a previous dose if the entire medication wasn’t used. Hemphill’s dental license was temporarily suspended on July 15, the day of her arrest, by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners.
The suspension order states chloral hydrate, a discontinued sedative that has no specific reversal agent, was administered to Arriaga. An unusually high amount of meperidine (demerol, an opiate) was found in the child’s blood system. A medical examiner said the amount in the child’s system would have been toxic for an adult.
Response from Experts
Dr. Robert Morgan, a board-certified pediatric dentist, said Hemphill did not follow proper procedure in disposing of medication. Morgan encourages parents to make sure the second person monitoring a dental procedure are certified with Pediatric Advanced Life Support, or PALS.
Original reporting: Dallas – Ft. Worth Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
