A Connecticut dentist turned himself in Tuesday and has been charged in the death of a patient who became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled, Yahoo! News reports.

Officers of the Enfield Police Department said Rashmi Patel was charged with a misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence.

The dentist failed to respond to his patient Judith Gan whose oxygen levels dangerously dropped while she was consciously sedated. The woman went to Patel's Enfield office to get a teeth extraction and implant procedures on Feb. 17, 2014. She died that day.

"Dr. Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges be dropped," Patel's attorney Paul Knag said in a statement Wednesday.

The State Dental Commission suspended Patel's license back in December after investigating the death of Gan. The suspension permanently bans him from performing conscious sedation but does not completely take his license away.

"In the Dental Commission proceeding, multiple expert witnesses testified that Dr. Patel followed the standard of care," Knag said. "The state's seeking of criminal charges is contrary to this evidence and inconsistent with the decision of the Commission not to revoke his license."

Yet, the Dental Commission said Patel "ignored" signs that Gan was in distress including changes in the color of her face and hands while she was wheezing and making gurgling sounds.

The commission pointed out Patel continued with the procedure after his dental assistants warned him of the danger. He also was not supposed to perform so many procedures in one office visit since the patient had a heart attack six months prior.

Gan was rushed to the hospital after she completely stopped breathing where she was pronounced dead.

Another patient of Patel's was rushed to the hospital after swallowing a throat pack, which was intended to stop them from swallowing foreign objects causing the patient's blood pressure to spike. The patient recovered.

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