Police Investigate Death of Japanese Toddler Following Dental Procedures
Police are investigating the case of a 2-year-old girl who died in Fukuoka, Japan, after receiving local anesthesia and undergoing treatment for dental caries in 2017.
The local police are now investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who passed away after receiving treatment for dental caries in a dental practice in Fukuoka, the largest city on the Japanese island of Kyushu, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
The patient received local anesthesia and treatment for dental caries in July 2017, and cried on and off throughout the procedure. The parents’account of what happened after the treatment was completed differs from the dental office staff’s statement. The parents assert their daughter was listless and unresponsive, which they reported to the staff (the dentist who completed the treatment had left for the day). The staff stated that the parents did not alert them that something was wrong until 10 minutes to 20 minutes after treatment was complete and that the child’s status at the time did not constitute an emergency.
Regardless of the sequence of events, the parents took their daughter to a nearby hospital where she died 2 days later of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury due to anesthetic toxicity. The city of Fukaya has experienced the deaths of two other young children following dental procedures since 2000; one of which ended in legal damages awarded to the family of the child.
