A new investigation came out recently by ABC News appearing on both “Nightline” and “World News With Diane Sawyer” looking at sedation deaths from dentistry.
The story is located over on the ABC News website which appeared on July 12, 2012 and is titled “Death, Greet at the Dentist: American Children at Risk.” A synopsis of the investigation appeared on drbicuspid.com on July 13, 2012, titled “ABC News spotlights pediatric dental sedation risks.”
The story over on ABC News opens up with
“American children are being put at risk by inadequately trained dentists who often seek to enhance profits by sedating their young patients for even routine tooth cleaning and cavity treatments.”
In the segment on “Nightline” Brian Ross says
“…it is a scandal in many cases driven by dentists who are told they can increase their bottom line. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra profits by giving their young patients a quick and all too often dangerous dose of sedatives…”
The story on ABC News says
“The ABC News investigation found a patchwork of state regulations with some states requiring only a weekend-long course for dentists to be certified in the administration of oral sedatives.”
As highlighted in the segment by Dr. Norbert Kaminski a dental anesthesiologist interviewed in the segment, a 2 1/2 or 3 day program is not enough to properly learn all the intricacies of dental sedation in dealing with children.
Brian Ross flats out asks in the “Nightline” piece
“…Is that the reason you give sedation, to get rich as a dentist?”
The segments also discuss the Raven Maria Blanco Foundation which has been discussed before on this blog over at https://blog.teethremoval.com/raven-maria-blanco-foundation/.
You can learn more about dental deaths over on the dental death videos page, the death from wisdom teeth removal page, and the dental deaths page.
This segment by ABC News doesn’t go into all the specifics but clearly highlights the need to understand the reasons and rational for having sedation with any dental procedure. In addition, the piece didn’t clarify entirely well that there is clearly different training received by your typical family dentist compared to an oral surgeon.