A 5-year-old Chicago girl who never awoke from her sedation during a visit to the dentist died Wednesday at Children’s Memorial Hospital, a hospital official said.
Kindergartner Diamond Brownridge had been in a coma and on life support since the weekend dentist visit, said Julie Pesch, a spokeswoman for Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Family members have said Diamond received a triple dose of sedatives — an oral agent, an intravenous drug and nitrous oxide gas — during Saturday’s exam at Little Angel Dental. The girl was having two cavities filled and caps placed on her lower front teeth.
The girl’s mother, Ommettress Travis, has said she was asked to leave the room during the half-hour procedure. When she returned, her daughter was lying in the dental chair, not breathing, Travis said.
A family statement released by the hospital added that there had been no intervention by doctors and the girl stopped breathing on her own.
“She passed very peacefully and beautifully,” the statement said.
The girl’s dentist, Hicham Riba, was certified to administer anesthesia to patients and his state license was current, said Susan Hofer, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times before the girl died, the 40-year-old Riba said he was traumatized by what happened. “I don’t think I will ever go back to a normal life after an experience like this,” he said.
The telephone rang unanswered at Riba’s home Wednesday night.
