Eighty-five Texas dental patients have died since 2010, according to an investigative report by the Dallas Morning News published December 10.
The report also estimates that about 1,000 people have died nationwide following dental procedures.
"Deadly Dentistry" is the result of an 18-month investigation by reporter Brooks Egerton and consists of seven major sections. The seven parts include:
- Junior's Story
- Elusive numbers
- No discipline
- Beating the system
- Dental secrets
- Crime and punishment
- Dental check
Some of the sections are interactive, allowing readers to focus on state-by-state incidents.
The first story in the series, "Junior's Story," focuses on 4-year-old Salomon Barahona Jr., who was taken to Dallas pediatric dentist John Riehs, DDS, on December 30, 2013. One of Dr. Riehs' aides sold the boy's parents a "$100 December-only sedation special" and they were told their child needed 12 stainless steel crowns -- three times the number identified by their regular dentist, the story said.
The boy's mother, Daniela, was told that sedation was not covered by insurance, and the parents agreed to have the work done in two installments, with the first costing $2,400.
Dr. Riehs administered demerol and two anti-anxiety drugs, valium and hydroxyzine, according to the story. The boy stopped breathing during the procedure and was taken to the Children's Medical Center. He died four days later. Dr. Riehs did not return calls from DrBicuspid.com for comment.
Salomon sustained "acute respiratory complication, hypoxic brain injury, and subsequent death," according to the August 2014 report by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners.
The Dallas County medical examiner's office concluded that Salomon had been fatally overdosed and noted the listed level of each drug given to the child exceeded the federally recommended maximum for unmonitored use, the story said. The boy's autopsy report is not listed on the Dallas Medical Examiner's website and calls to the agency were not returned.
Dr. Riehs "failed to meet the minimum standard of care," and the combination of drugs used on the child "may have resulted in over sedation," the dental board wrote. He received five years of unsupervised probation, was fined $3,000, and was required to complete a competency program. Dr. Riehs is now practicing at Preston Center Pediatric Dentistry in Dallas.
State records show Dr. Riehs has received more than $800,000 from Medicaid, putting him among the top 25 dentists in Texas who received Medicaid reimbursement, the story said. He was removed from the program after the boy's death, the story said.
