The Texas dental board has taken disciplinary action against a pediatric dentist who was arrested on July 15 for allegedly administering doses of sedatives that killed a 4-year-old girl during a routine tongue-tie procedure.
Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill, MBA.Cuddle Kids Dental Care.
On July 15 at an emergency meeting, the executive committee of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners temporarily suspended the dental license and related permits of Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill of Cuddle Kids Dental Care in Fort Worth, TX, according to a board order.
Hemphill, 48, was arrested on July 15 outside her practice. She was charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury in the death of 4-year-old Aithana Rodriguez-Arriaga on April 1.
After Hemphill administered sedatives to the girl, Aithana went into distress, became unresponsive, and never woke up.
Aithana Rodriguez-Arriaga.GoFundMe.
A medical examiner ruled that meperidine toxicity caused the girl's death. Tests revealed that Aithana had 793 ng per ml of meperidine, a synthetic opioid pain medication, in her system at the time of her death. A normal adult range for meperidine is 200 to 500 ng per ml.
Additionally, Hemphill, who has been licensed to practice in Texas since 2017, allegedly failed to recognize the respiratory problems Aithana was having, and the clinician purportedly failed to give the 4-year-old appropriate medication to address the opiate overdose.
The board suspended Hemphill based on allegations that she failed to meet the minimum standard of care in the treatment of the child by doing the following and more:
- Oversedating the girl
- Administering an inappropriate combination of pediatric sedative medications and anesthetics, including chloral hydrate, meperidine, and hydroxyzine
- Failing to recognize the risks associated with administering a discontinued sedative that has no specific reversal agent
- Failing to appropriately consider and recognize the documented risks associated with chloral hydrate sedation, including reports in the medical and dental literature of pediatric deaths occurring before, during, or after dental treatment involving this type of sedative
- Failing to calculate and administer appropriate doses of the sedative medications
- Failing to take timely and appropriate measures necessary to prevent the patient’s death
Additionally, the board claimed that Hemphill engaged in dishonorable conduct, including grossly overprescribing, dispensing, or administering narcotic drugs, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances and engaging in conduct that has become established through professional experience as likely to disgrace, degrade, or bring discredit upon the licensee or the dental profession, according to the board order.
During the emergency suspension period, Hemphill is only permitted to perform administrative tasks, like opening mail and referring patients, according to the board order.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
