65 more families file lawsuit against Anaheim dental clinic on behalf of infected children

IRVINE — Sixty-five families whose children were infected by rare bacteria when they underwent pulpotomies, or “baby root canals,” at an Anaheim clinic two years ago filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Jan. 16, naming the clinic, its operators, the company that installs and maintains water filtration systems, and several dentists.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, alleges that Children’s Dental Group and dentists who provided services there performed hundreds if not thousands of unnecessary pulpotomies on children. Potentially deadly Mycobacterium abscessus was found in several samples the county’s Health Care Agency took from the clinic’s water system.

The children, ages 3 to 9, all underwent pulpotomies at the clinic between April and July 2016. In all, 500 children underwent the procedure during that time.

Children’s Dental Group has since become part of Western Dental and the clinic in question on East Lincoln Avenue has also changed hands.

So far, 150 families have filed lawsuits against the clinic and the number is expected to grow, said Dan Hodes, Irvine-based medical malpractice lawyer who is representing the children and their families.

“This is predatory dentistry where dentists (received bonuses and incentives) to perform these unnecessary procedures,” he said, adding that all of the children he represents are Latino and are on Medi-Cal.

The lawsuit also alleges negligence on the part of the clinic and others for failing to properly sanitize and maintain the water lines.

Hospitalizations

Doctors at Children’s Hospital of Orange County said many of these children required hospitalization and lost permanent teeth. Several were treated with months of intravenous antibiotics, lost permanent teeth that were destroyed by the infection or underwent partial removal of their jaw bones.

The clinic was shut down twice in 2016 because tests showed bacteria in the water.

Anthony Garcia, whose daughter Kylah contracted the infection after undergoing nine pulpotomies at the clinic, said he has undergone so much stress as a result of his daughter’s condition that he is having heart issues.

“This should never happen to any family again,” he said.

Garcia, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Wednesday, said his daughter had to go to school for several weeks with a catheter in her arm so a nurse could administer the antibiotics. The drugs caused her face to swell up, he said, showing a photo of Kylah in bed with eyes closed, and face red and swollen.

“She is better now,” he said. “But she is still not healthy and falls sick often. And we don’t know how those antibiotics are going to affect her.”

The county’s Health Care Agency has “told dental providers who see these patients to report any new cases to us,” said spokeswoman Jessica Good.

“But we’re not actively following the individual cases at this point in time,” she said.

Another plaintiff, Evangelina Hernandez, said her son Santos, 8, lost several teeth and had to have a portion of his jaw bone removed after contracting the severe infection.

He was 6 when he got the pulpotomies, she said.

Hernandez said just after a few months of getting the procedures, the inside of her son’s mouth was red with white patches and so badly swollen that he could not close his mouth.

After being hospitalized and undergoing surgery, he lost six pounds because he couldn’t eat solid food, she said. All he could have was Pediasure.

Even now, with four lower teeth and a portion of his back jaw missing, Santos struggles to eat any hard food such as cookies, candy or even pizza — foods a child his age should be able to enjoy, she said.

“Kids at school asked him if he was going to die,” Hernandez said. “How do you answer a question like that?”

Her older children, teenagers, have been affected by their brother’s suffering because they are now afraid to see a dentist, Hernandez said. And as a parent, she feels a tremendous sense of guilt.

“I trusted the dentist to do the right thing,” she said. “But, I still feel like I should’ve been able to protect my child from all the pain and suffering he went through.”

Hernandez said she hopes this lawsuit will bring a sense of awareness to other parents.

“It’s important that we ask questions as parents,” she said. “There is no such thing as a dumb question.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

But Gaston Duarte, whose daughter Camila spent six days in the hospital and underwent surgery to remove portions of her jaw and teeth, says this lawsuit, for him, is not about money.

“It’s about getting justice for my daughter,” he said, his voice cracking. “No amount of money is going to be enough to get back what I want for my daughter.”

What is a pulpotomy?

A pulpotomy is a dental procedure which treats a cavity that has spread too deeply into a molar to be treated with a traditional filling. It is typically done to preserve a baby tooth, which is needed to save space for the permanent tooth to come in.

While these procedures are generally considered safe, soft tissue is exposed during the procedure increasing the risk of infection.