A dentist in Florida accused of failing to stop the implant replacement of a sedated patient who died days after the procedure has been reprimanded for not meeting the minimum standards of care, according to the state health department.
Dr. Joel Berley of Plantation Oral Surgery in Hollywood and Plantation, FL, agreed to have a medical doctor, osteopathic physician anesthesiologist, or certified registered nurse anesthetist at any procedures that require moderate or general sedation, according to a state dental board final order dated March 21.
Also, Berley agreed to pay $16,000, which includes a fine and the costs of the investigation, and to take continuing education courses. However, Berley did not admit or deny any of the allegations against him, according to the order.
In 2016, Berley placed implants in a woman patient. In April 2022, when the patient was 75, she went to Berley for extraction and replacement of those implants. The patient, who had high blood pressure, osteoporosis, one functioning kidney, and was taking three different blood thinners, was administered general anesthesia.
For about an hour during the procedure, the woman's blood pressure rose, reaching its highest at 194/83. Berley allegedly responded by administering a jaw thrust, chin lift, and rescue breaths.
The woman's oxygen saturation rate remained under 85, which can put a person at risk of developing brain damage. Then, for the next nearly one hour, no oxygen saturation level was recorded. Additionally, no end-tidal carbon dioxide level was recorded, according to the complaint.
Despite her condition being a medical emergency, the procedure was not stopped, according to the complaint.
Berley "fell below the minimum standard of performance in diagnosis and treatment in the practice of dentistry when he failed to stop surgery and stabilize J.S.'s medical condition after conditions of medical emergency arose," the complaint states.
Seven minutes after the procedure was completed, the patient went into distress and became unresponsive. She died three days later on April 9, 2022, according to the complaint.
