Texas Dentist Charged in Death of 4-Year-Old Girl

A routine tongue-tie procedure at a Texas pediatric dental office ended with a 4-year-old girl dead, and her dentist is now facing a criminal charge. Authorities say Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill, 48, was arrested this week and charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child in connection with the April 1 death of Aithana Rodriguez Arriaga. According to an arrest affidavit, Hemphill allegedly gave the child meperidine (Demerol), two other medications, and nitrous oxide during a frenectomy at Cuddle Kids Dental in Fort Worth, People reports. Aithana failed to wake up after the procedure and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was meperidine toxicity, noting the level in her system—793 ng/mL—was well above the adult therapeutic range of 200 to 500 ng/mL. According to the affidavit, Hemphill told investigators she gave the girl Demerol to calm her before the procedure, but neither Hemphill nor her staff could immediately say how much she had been given, NBC-DFW reports. Investigators later determined that Hemphill administered 30 milligrams, triple the normal maximum dose. Demerol is an opioid and Aithana should have received Narcan to counteract the opioid's effects but was instead given flumazenil, which reverses drugs she wasn't given, a pediatric dental anesthesiology expert told investigators.

Aithana's doctors disputed Hemphill's claim that the girl had breathing issues that weren't disclosed before the procedure. They also questioned whether the procedure was necessary, saying they had seen no evidence of a tongue tie, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. According to the affidavit, a relative brought Aithana to Hemphill's practice after a preschool teacher said the girl might have a tongue tie because of how she pronounced certain letters. A detective wrote that Hemphill's actions and alleged failure to recognize respiratory distress showed "evident neglect" that led to the girl's death. Hemphill could face between two and 20 years in prison.