Pediatric Dental Deaths (under 18 years old)
A 3 year old girl visited the dentist to have four root canals and ten cavities filled but stopped breathing and was left brain dead. She was given the maximum dosage of 5 different drugs. This occured in Kailua, Hawaii. [165]
A 3 year old boy visited the dentist to have cavities fixed and was restrained in a papoose board to limit his movement when a local anesthetic was administered. He stopped breathing and later was found dead. This occured in February 2012, in New Jersey. [161]
A 4 year old boy visisted the dentist to remove rotten teeth and cap some others. He died after having been giving an oral anesthestic. He was born with a hole in the heart which required surgery. This occured in November 2011, in California. [160]
A 17 year old man developed sepsis and died after having a root canal performed on a tooth which had lost a filling after he eat a piece of caramel. This occured in February 2011, in Illinois. [143]
A 13 year old girl died while having her dentist remove two baby teeth and uncover an impacted tooth. She was given propofol, remifentanil, ketamine, and Versed. This occured in December 2010, in Ohio, and was due to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy due to respiratory arrest (lack of oxygen to the brain) following the administration of anesthesia. In a settlement, her parents each receieved $331,056 and the attorney received $322,000. [1, 63, 157]
A 4 year old female died in August 2010, while undergoing dental work in Oklahoma. Her death is believed to be linked to the sedation given. [33]
A 5 year old boy died while having two fillings shortly before he was to begin school. After the fillings were complete he had a seizure and was taken to a hospital and died. This occured in July 2010 in Georgia. [34]
A 6 year old boy died in Virginia when he was having several teeth capped. He suffered an irregular heart beat while having his breathing tube removed after having been given anesthesia. This occured in May, 2010, and the state medical examiner official listed the cause of death as "cardiac dysrhythmia due to endotracheal extubation". [2]
A 5 year old boy died while having 4 cavities and 8 caps put in Florida. This occured in April 2010. He was sedated with chloral hydrate and then went into cardiac arrest. [16, 17, 158]
A 22 month year old boy stopped breathing several hours after having been sent home with his grandmother after having his teeth capped in December 2009. He was then hospitalized but his heart stopped, his lungs collapsed, and he became brain dead. He was taken off a ventilator and died two weeks later. He was given two 0.5 mg doses of morphine intravenously which had been approved by an anesthesiologist. [20, 21]
A 15 year old boy had four teeth removed in Seattle. He was austic and could not tolerate swallowing medication so he was given a 100 mc/hr Fentanyl patch which he took that night to help him sleep and for pain. He did not wake up due to Fentanyl intoxication and died in March 2009. [100, 101]
A 9 year old boy died as a result of choking on his own vomit after having been given anesthesia while undergoing dental work. He was given diazepam and ketamine. This occured in Febuary 2009. [18, 19]
A 17 year old female died in January 2009, while undergoing dental work. She had a reaction to the local anesthetic 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine given to numb her gums. [31]
A 7 year old female died after inhaling her own infected tooth which was being extracted. This left her brain dead and she was later taken off life support. This occured in March, 2008. [22, 23]
A 5 year old female choked on a cotton roll which had fell down her throat and was left brain dead while under sedation to have a tooth pulled. She was given nitrous oxide, vistaril, and valium. She vomitted twice and threw up 1/3 of the medication given. When the dentist treating her, was reaching for a hand bur during the treatment, one of the cotton rolls fell down her throat and 911 was called after attempts to revive her failed. She was then taken off life support and died in June, 2007. [24, 25]
A 2 year old girl died in June 2007 after choking on dental cotton while having a broken tooth fixed in Japan. [99]
An 8 year old girl died in March 2007 while having her teeth cleaned and calcium deposits removed. She was given 1300 mg of chloral hydrate, 30 mg of hydroxyzine, and nitrous oxide. She went into cardiac arrest while under sedation and died roughly 90 minutes after being taken to a hospital. An autopsy showed that she had a blood concentration of 24 mg/L of chloral hydrate which is three times the average given. [26, 27, 28, 29]
A 6 year old female died while having two cavities filled and caps placed on her lower front teeth. She died from oversedation as she was given three times the amount of Valium she should have received for her size. This occured in October, 2006, and her family was awarded a $1 million settlement. [11]
A 2 year old female died while having a few cracks repaired in her baby teeth while in Texas. She died from an overdose of Mepivicaine. This occured in October, 2006. [14, 15, 5]
A 10 year old female died while having a tooth pulled after receiving nitrous oxide. She was was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare condition that restricts the airway and ability to breathe. However, she had been breathing on her own for two months prior to the extraction. This occured in March, 2006. [13]
A 4 year old man died in 2006, while at a dental clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, from an overdose of anesthetic while strapped to a papoose board. [30]
A 4 year old girl died of a possible allergic reaction to a drug given in September, 2005, while in California. [145, 146]
A 3 year old boy died while having crowns placed on his decaying teeth by his dentist. The boy managed to knock out a tooth after he became aroused from a Septocaine injection (local anesthestic) and which caused the dentist to place a mouth prop in his mouth. A 4 by 4 piece of gauze was placed by the dentist in his mouth to dry blood from tooth. The dentist then used the Hand over Mouth and Nose technique taught in dental schools prior to 1988 in which a dentist gently covers an uncooperative child's mouth and nose. The Coroner's report indicated the cause of death as "anoxic encephalopathy due to asphyxia by combined smothering and gagging on gauze pad during dental procedure." This occured in June 21, 2005. [3, 4 5]
A 2 year old boy died in January 2005, while having four rotten front teeth replaced by crowns. He was given midazolam and nitrous oxide by his dentist. This occured in Israel. [42]
A 2 year old boy died after receiving 3 times the recommended dose of prilocaine while having 11 rotted teeth extracted in October, 2004. He was in Ohio. [94, 95]
A 6 year old girl died in 2004 in New Jersey after having dental work done while being given anesthesia and placed in a papoose board. She suffered from cerebral palsy. [161]
A 6 year old girl who had periodontitis of a baby tooth had it extracted and was given 2 ml of 2% lidocaine. She developed vision problems, cramps, vomiting, and unconsciousness after a few minutes. Treatment was attempted and she died 16 hours later. An autopsy performed showed swelling of her brain and lungs, multiple small hemmorrhages of her heart and lungs, and also a partially collapsed lung. She had a toxic reaction to the lidocaine. This seemed to have occured in Latvia sometime in the early 2000's. [139]
A 3 year old boy died in September 1999, while having filings of cavities on 4 teeth performed in California. He was given a medication an hour before which lead to his death. [90, 91, 92]
A 5 year old girl died in August 1999, after having a baby tooth removed while under general anesthesia in the UK. The dentist failed to ensure an oxygen warning system was fitted to the anesthetic machine and failed to monitor her heart rate. It was found after her passing that she had a heart defect but it is not clear if this contributed to her death. [39, 40, 41]
A 16 year old man went into a coma after a dental procedure in May 1999, and died a week later in California. [93]
A 10 year old boy, had a tooth extracted in Scotland. His anesthesiologist had his dentist administer a local anaesthetic containing epinephrine even though the boy was already under the anaesthetic halothane which is known to potentially cause cardiac arrhythmia if interacting with epinephrine. The boy suffered a cardiac arrest and died on his way to a hospital. This occured in October 1998. The family settled an undisclosed compensation agreement 6 years after. [35, 36, 37, 38]
A 5 year old boy went to get four fillings and have two baby teeth removed at in the UK in September 1998. He was given general anesthesia and went in to cardiac arrest and suffered brain damage. He was first admitted to a hospital and later died at home more than a month after the dental work in October 1998. He was later found to have a rare muscle disorder called muscle myopathy which may have contributed to the death. However, it was found that the anesthesiologist gave him electric shocks 5 times greater than what should have been given. [43, 44, 45]
A 14 year old woman received general anesthesia while having a baby tooth removed in the U.K. He suffocated and died in October, 1997, as a result of receiving nitrous oxide instead of oxygen as the tubes were mixed up. [70, 71]
A 12 year old girl died less than 6 hours after having a lower tooth extracted in September 19, 1997, in New York. She was given 5 mg valium, 5 mg lidocaine, and 30 mg brevitol. [144]
A 4 year old boy died in August, 1997, while his dentist was filling his teeth. The coroner found the death to be due to "positional asphyxiation" or inability to breathe because of position. The boy was strapped to a papoose board used to restrain squirming children and his airway did not remain open. [10]
A 7 year old boy went into respiratory arrest, was airlifted to a hospital, and removed from life support 3 days later in March, 1997, while having two teeth removed by in Illinois. His parents won roughly $4.5 in a wrongful-death settlement. [86, 87]
A three year old girl died after receiving choloral hydrate and nitrous oxide while having a root canal done in July 1996. She was in Georgia. [82, 83]
A 5 year old boy died after having cavities filled in June 1996. He stopped breathing while under general anesthesia. [12]
A 3 year old boy suffered a heart attack and died while under anesthesia to have a few cavities filled. The dentist failed to bring necessary monitoring equipment to the dental office. This occured in May 1996. [8, 9]
A 10 year old female broke two front teeth at her school's playground and was taken by her mother to get treatment. She was given general anesthesia her heart rate dropped. She was taken to a hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. This occured in January 1996 in the UK. [46, 47]
A 3 year old girl died in January 1995, while having 5 cavities filled while in Georgia. She had previously been hospitalized twice for reactive airway disease and took Rynatan for a cold which was not disclosed to the dentist. She was given chloral hydrate, nitrous oxide, and lethal amount 2% lidocaine with epineprhine. [78, 79, 80, 82, 84, 85]
A 6 year old went into a coma in 1993, while having a tooth pulled under anesthesia. He was given Halothane and nitrous oxide. [163]
A 13 year old boy had four baby teeth pulled in November, 1990, in New York. He was given chloral hydrate and began vomitting shorty after which lead to his death. He had known heart disease, asthama, and high cholesterol which was not told to the dentist at the time of treatment. [74]
An 8 year old female, died while having 8 baby teeth pulled in August, 1989. She was given an overdose of mepivacaine and suffered from seizures before her heart stopped. Her family received a $350,000 settlement from the dentist's insurance company. This occured in Florida. [75, 76]
A 16 year old male had implant surgery under general anesthesia (2% halothane) to replace two left mandibular teeth in June 1987. During surgery he began to look pale and cynanotic and taken to a hospital. He suffered cardiac arrest and subcutaneous emphysema and died. A dental drill used during surgery had likely produced an air embolism. [59]
A 2 year old boy suffered trouble breathing 4 1/2 hours while in the recovery room after having a tooth extraction and filling done. He had received pentothal, nitrous oxide, ketamine, and valium. He later went into cardiac arrest while being rushed to a hospital and died. This occured in June 1986 in New York. [102]
A 3 year old boy suffered cardiac arrest and died a few hours after having chloral hydrate during a dental appointment. He received 4 to 5 teaspoons of choloral hydrate and the local anesthetics lidocaine and carbocaine. This occured in June 1985 in Cleveland, Ohio. [111]
A 17 year old male had a tooth removed in the mid-1980s in California. He was given 40 mg of brevital and 10 mg of valium. During the procedure he began to vomit and bring up lumps of food. He later died at a hospital and it was revealed that he had lied to the surgeon prior to the tooth removal about not eating any food within 6 hours prior. In fact he had just come from eating a lot of food at a restaurant. [140]
A 3 year old boy suffered a heart attack and went into a coma in April 1984, under anesthesia while having treatment done on several teeth. He died a month later. This occured in Vernon, California. [105]
A 4 year old girl died in May 1983, after going into convulsions and subsequently suffering a heart attack shortly after receiving anesthesia, specifically mepivacaine (carbocaine) while having fillings put in her teeth. She was in Pennslyvania. She suffered from heart inflammation and had a clinical history of convulsions during local anesthetic. [103, 104]
A 10 year old girl died after suffering cardiac arrest after having been given a general anesthestic while having two teeth extracted. This occured in January 1981 in Scotland. [108]
A 3 year old boy died from cardiac arrest while having teeth extractions done. He was given halothane, nitrous oxide, oxygen, followed by 0.3 mg atropine, and 25 mg suxamethonium. This occured sometine between 1980 and 1989 in England or Wales. [142]
A 10 year old girl died while having tooth extractions done while under general anesthesia. She suffered from physical and mental disabilities. [38]
A 4 year old girl suffered respiratory arrest after having been given prodine (nisentil) while receiving treatment for some severely decayed teeth. She died 11 days later and this occured in November, 1978. [124]
A 9 year old died of a heart attack likely due to anesthesia given in 1975, while in Florida. [112]
A 10 year old boy suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage while under general anesthesia to remove 9 teeth. He died three days later and this occured in September, 1974, in Canada. It appears he was given nitrous oxide and trichloroethene (trilene) which has not been used as an anesthetic since the 1980s. [116, 117]
A 3 year old boy had a spread of stannous flouride solution in the form of a jell applied to his teeth as a preventative measure. The hygenist allowed him to swallow the flouride, he was later taken to a hospital, went in to a coma, and then died. This occured in May 1974, and his family recieved $750,000. [125]
A 15 year old woman died of brain damage 14 hours after her oxygen and nitrous oxide lines had been switched on her dentist's anesthesia machine. This occured in March, 1974 in Canada. [121]
A 5 year old girl died when having a tooth extracted because she inhaled her own tooth under local anesthesia when it mistakenly left the dentist's forceps. This occured sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s. [73]
