3 year old Finley Boyle has died after careless sedation by dentist and staff in Hawaii dental office.

This is the saddest picture I think I’ve seen in many years and should be the one that comes to mind the next time ANY dentists want to sedate a child.  Sadly these deaths are more common than you may think.  In 2011 there were 8 that were reported, who knows how many were not.

On December 3, 2013 baby Finley was sedated at Island Dentistry for Children. Dr. Lilly Geyer was the dentist in charge, but who actually administered the deadly cocktail 5 different drugs?  According to court documents a “technician” gave Finley the lethal cocktail. Not surprising to those of us who watch this sort of news, questions have arisen as to the whether Finely actually needed the extensive treatment recommended at her November check-up by Dr. Geyer.

Court documents say when Dr. Lilly Geyer discovered Finley had gone into cardiac arrest, the doctor ran down the hall to a pediatrician’s office in the building to get him to come and perform CPR.

The AAPD Guidelines recommends vital signs should be monitored and documented at least every five minutes for patients who are sedated.  However, as was learned in the dental malpractice case in Syracuse, NY the AAPD guidelines are “options”.  Dentists on the stand testified under oath, the AAPD guidelines have little influence in the decisions many dentists make in treatment. (sorry, I tried not to do there)

According to the Boyle’s attorney, Rick Fried, only 3 notations were made as to Finley's vital signs and they went unchecked for 26 minutes after the technician sedated her.

I can only conclude Dr. Geyer and staff as careless idiots.

As promoted by the Raven Marie Blanco Foundation, every dentist office should be prepared to handle a medical emergency and recommends The Six Links of Survival. 

See the RMBF Public Service Announcement

However, dentists are fighting this “tooth and nail”.  State dental boards are doing little to protect the public and everything to make it easier for dentists to increase their income stream by offering sedation.

Below are several links to various stories, don’t miss out on the comments.  As you will see in the comments, the first thing people do is blame the victim or in this case the victim’s parents.  What is usually not stressed in the stories is that the child probably did NOT need such extensive treatment, if at all.

Ashton–Nearly died a year ago today. Hear Ashton’s story from his mom! Don’t miss this!

 

This is Ashton.  It’s been a year today since this child almost lost his life from carelessness and overdosing by a dentist. When I watched this video, I realized that I was watching a child being euthanized, it’s just didn’t take.

Here Aston’s is story:

It was April 13, 2011... We took our 6 year old son Ashton to see Dr. Zhu (pediatric dentist) in Troy, Michigan to have fillings and a baby root canal done. What I thought would be an ordinary day turned out to be every parents worse nightmare.

Ashton was ignored, neglected, overdosed on sedation medicine and sent home unresponsive and unconscious. Dr. Zhu told us to take Ashton home and "put him to bed". Dr. Zhu clearly did not value Ashton's life and because his office was operating like an assembly line, he had to turn my son over as quickly as possible. As of this month which would mark one year, he has continued his practice and has not faced a consequence.
Jason carried Ashton out of the dental office like a rag doll. As he was driving Ashton home he heard a scary sound that later was determined to be the sound that occurs when a person's airway is blocked. At this point, he knew something was wrong and took him to the hospital to seek medical attention. If we would have chosen not to respond, Ashton could have died at home in his bed.
My son didn't die despite this negligence. There are many people that are "surprised" at his outcome and many other children who's outcome was catastrophic.
I can't help but want to warn other parents who hand their children over to medical professionals. I am not saying they are all like Dr. Zhu but there are some. ALWAYS trust your instincts and don't EVER be afraid to ask questions or walk away from any situation you are not comfortable in. I knew something was wrong here and I should have walked away.
If you want to know more about Ashton's story or you have a similar one, please let me know.
Thanks for listening!
Rebekah

Another “sedation propaganda” piece for the American consumer.

My questions, who is pushing these stories.  A hospital?  Some association or organization? Someone is, you can bet on that.  Only common thread between this one and the one last week in the NYT is – Janine Costantini.  If I had time tonight, I’d rip this thing from stem to stern…  Grrrr

Tiny Mouths Found Filled With Rotting Teeth - Staying Healthy News Story - KMGH Denver

AURORA, Colo. -- The operating rooms at Children's Hospital Colorado are packed with preschool kids needing dental procedures.

"We're booked five months out in the OR, and that's three days a week, two rooms a day. And it just keep increasing," said Janine Costantini, ambulatory practice director at Children’s Hospital Colorado. "The more we do the more we need."

The hospital staff is seeing more tiny mouths riddled with big dental problems.

“There were over 3,000 OR visits last year just for pediatric dentistry,” said Costantini.

7NEWS was there when a 4-year old boy went under anesthesia for treatment.

“Out of 20 baby teeth we’re treating 16,” said Children’s Hospital Colorado Pediatric Dentist, Mark Koch.

The pediatric dentistry team at Children's Hospital Colorado mapped out the boy's treatment including extractions, baby root canals and crowns.

“His mouth is in very bad shape. This is not unusual. This is the fourth case today, in this room,” said Pediatric dentist, Mark Koch.

The boy ended up on the operating table for treatment nine months after pediatric dentistry staff recommended treatment.

“It is a very safe and comfortable treatment, but it is very expensive. That is the problem," said Ulrich Klein, DMD, DDS, MS Chair of the Pediatric Dentistry program at Children's Hospital Colorado.

The average cost of treatment is $3,000.