Three-Year-Old Kansas Boy Died After Dental Procedure
A three-year-old Kansas boy had died after a dental procedure gone wrong at Tiny Teeth Pediatrics Dentistry in Wichita on July 6.
Abiel Valenzuela Zapata was taken to the dentist to have teeth pulled out due to a gum infection. He was given anesthesia for the procedure and died soon after, according to a People report.
Nancy Valenzuela, Zapata's mother, said that the last thing she told her son was that everything is going to be fine because the three-year-old boy had cried when he felt the needle.
Valenzuela said that she felt like she failed him because she can't do anything to protect him.
The boy became unresponsive during a dental procedure and someone called 911 to report what happened to the child. Zapata was later brought into the hospital and later died there, according to a WBAY report.
It is believed that Zapata had an unanticipated reaction to the medicine given to him during the dental procedure.
Three-Year-Old's Death
Valenzuela said Zapata's death has been hard for everyone in their family, including the three-year-old's younger brother, according to a KWCH report.
Valenzuela said that her son had pointed up and said he was with God. She added that it brings her a kind of comfort, but it hurts her that he knows.
Valenzuela said she made a promise to her son to truly understand what happened surrounding his death. She said he had no previous medical conditions to explain what happened during their dentist's appointment.
The mother said that Zapata's heart had just stopped beating and something must have gone wrong out of nowhere.
She noted that her son had cavities and they had gotten medical opinions from two dentists. They were then referred to the said dental clinic.
Valenzuela said she worried something was wrong when EMS arrived.
Meanwhile, no criminal investigation is ongoing regarding Zapata's death.
Valenzuela said that she did not expect to come out of the clinic without a child, adding that no parent ever expects that situation.
Zapata would have turned four in August. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to support the family of Zapata.
Dental Anesthesia Death
Children who died during dental appointments have led people to have a closer look at pediatric dentists' increasing use of anesthesia for kids for routine procedures such as cavity fillings, root canals, and tooth extractions.
A Twin Cities dentist in Minnesota had paid a $2 million settlement to the family of a teen who died while having her wisdom teeth removed. The said dentist allegedly failed to properly monitor her after administering anesthesia, according to a WebMD report.
In Hawaii, a dentist was charged with manslaughter after a three-year-old girl had a heart attack during a root canal after having the anesthesia. The dentist was later acquitted, but the case prompted lawmakers to pass "Finley's Law," which is named after the patient. The law had stated new anesthesia guidelines for pediatric dental care.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry issued new national guidelines for practicing dentists on the use of general anesthesia to sedate young patients.
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Written by Mary Webber
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