A dentist in Canada pleaded not guilty to professional misconduct charges related to the death of a healthy four-week-old boy who died during a frenotomy to fix a tongue tie, according to a story published January 21 on CTV News.
Jules Beauchemin died minutes after Dr. Marie-Eve Gregoire, who operates her practice in Quebec City, performed the routine procedure. A coroner's investigation is underway to determine the cause of the infant's death, according to the story.
Gregoire pleaded not guilty to six disciplinary charges, including recommending the procedure without complete knowledge of the facts, failure to fully inform the baby's parents about the risks and benefits of frenotomies, and allowing a lactation consultant to describe the procedure.
In June 2023, the infant's parents took him to Gregoire's office to learn more about frenotomies. The parents claim that Marie-Ève Sturrock, the clinic's lactation consultant, explained that fixing their baby's tongue would improve breastfeeding, language development, and social skills later in life, according to the story.
Immediately after Jules underwent a frenotomy, Nicolas Beauchemin said his son's health declined. He claims that his son's cries had changed, he stopped breathing, and the couple was escorted to the hospital where the infant died, according to the story.
The couple said they decided to file the complaint against Gregoire to raise awareness of the risks of this commonly performed procedure, according to the story.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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