A Texas dentist has been arrested more than three months after a 4-year-old girl died following a dental procedure at a Fort Worth clinic.
Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill, 48, was taken into custody on Tuesday, July 14, and charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
The charge stems from the April 1 death of Aithana Rodriguez Arriaga, who became unresponsive after undergoing a frenectomy, commonly known as a tongue-tie procedure, at Cuddle Kids Dental Care.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the 44-pound child had been given meperidine, also known as Demerol, before the procedure. The powerful opioid pain medication was allegedly administered to help calm her.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner later determined that Aithana died from meperidine toxicity and that the amount of the drug found in her system was high enough to be considered lethal.
She was rushed to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room, according to the medical examiner’s online case report.
Investigators allege Hemphill told police that she administered the medication before the procedure but could not say exactly how much she had given the child.
Authorities also said Aithana received three additional sedating medications, along with nitrous oxide, a combination that can suppress breathing.
The affidavit further alleges that medical experts identified several failures in the way the child was monitored and treated after she became unresponsive. Those alleged failures included the use of the wrong reversal medication during the emergency response.
Hemphill and members of her staff reportedly told investigators that Aithana had undisclosed breathing problems. However, the girl’s doctors disputed that claim and told detectives she had no history of respiratory issues and had otherwise been healthy.
One of her physicians also questioned whether Aithana had a tongue-tie condition serious enough to require the procedure in the first place, according to the affidavit.
The Fort Worth Police Department said its Crimes Against Children Unit investigated the case and determined that a criminal offense had occurred, leading to Hemphill’s arrest Tuesday afternoon.
