A Harris County grand jury on Monday indicted a Houston dentist after a 4-year-old suffered irreversible brain damage from multiple seizures during a dental visit.
Dr. Bethaniel Jefferson was indicted on charges of intentionally and knowingly by omission causing serious bodily injury to a child by failing to seek and provide adequate medical attention.
Court documents show the child was given sedatives during a dental visit at Diamond Dental at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2016. They say the young girl suffered seizures around 11:30 a.m., and her body’s oxygen and temperature levels dropped between 50 percent and 80 percent of normal. No calls for medical assistance were made in more than 4 hours, investigators say.
As a result, officials say the child suffered hypoxia, which led to the irreversible brain damage.
Prior to this incident, the Texas Dental Board reprimanded Jefferson in 2012 and 2005. The Texas Dental Board revoked her license last November.