Dental professionals can learn from child's death under sedation

A 10-year-old child in a Harlingen, Texas, dental office undergoing sedation for a tooth filling died on September 6. The boy, Marcos Tirado, suffered from Treacher-Collins syndrome, a rare hereditary facial deformity.

Dr. James Tom, a dental anesthesiologist from USC, commented later, "Treacher-Collins is a huge deal that trained pediatric dentists and dental anesthesia providers should be aware of. I would only treat a Treacher-Collins patient in a hospital setting.” Dr. Tom was not involved in the treatment of Marcos. He went on to explain that patients who have Treacher-Collins disorder have compromised airways due to their small jaws, which sometimes makes breathing normally a problem.

For further reading ....
"Medical professionals say child's death at dentist was preventable" — ValleyCentral.com
"Another child has died at the dentist" — Dental Health Magazine, worlddental.org
"Child dies while being sedated at the office of Dr. Juan D. Villareal, Harlingen, Texas" — Dentist The Menace blog, blog.dentistthemenace.com