FORT WORTH, Texas, July 18 (Our Texas Times) — Fort Worth dentist Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill was arrested July 15 and charged in connection with the April death of a 4-year-old patient, according to arrest records and the medical examiner findings cited in reports. The case centers on allegations that the child received meperidine, a strong opioid pain medicine also known as Demerol, during a dental procedure at Cuddle Kids Dental Care in Fort Worth.
What happened?
The arrest affidavit says the child, identified in reports as Aithana Arriaga or Aithana Rodríguez-Arriaga, underwent a tongue-tie procedure, also called a frenectomy, on April 1 at the clinic on Sycamore School Road. Investigators say Hemphill gave the child meperidine along with other sedating drugs and nitrous oxide.
The affidavit also says Hemphill was the only person who administered the drugs. According to the records described in reports, the child later went into respiratory distress and was pronounced dead.
What does the medical examiner say?
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident caused by meperidine toxicity, according to the records cited in the reports.
Those same records say toxicology found a meperidine level of 793 ng/mL. Doctors quoted in the affidavit told investigators that a normal adult range is about 200 to 500 ng/mL, and that the level would have been high or toxic even for an adult.
Why does meperidine matter?
Meperidine is an opioid. Like other opioids, it can slow breathing and cause overdose. Naloxone, sold as Narcan, is the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses.
The reporting says investigators believe the wrong reversal drug was used after the child began to struggle. According to the affidavit, Hemphill used flumazenil instead of naloxone. Flumazenil is used for some sedative overdoses, not opioid overdoses.
What charge is Hemphill facing?
News reports based on the arrest records describe the charge as injury to a child causing serious bodily injury. One report used slightly different wording, saying recklessly causing serious bodily injury to a child. The underlying charging document was not shown in full in the materials reviewed.
An arrest is not a finding of guilt. It means investigators say they had enough evidence to charge a person. A conviction would require a court case.
What happened to her license?
The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners temporarily suspended Hemphill’s dental license on July 15, according to the board’s order cited in reports. That action is separate from the criminal case.
Jail records reported by outlets say Hemphill was released on a $10,000 bond.
What is still unclear?
The records cited in the reports do not show a court case number, judge or defense statement. The exact date of the child’s death also was not listed in the snippets reviewed.
For now, the case remains an accusation based on arrest records, an affidavit and the medical examiner’s ruling. The criminal case, and the separate licensing action, will determine what happens next.
