Dental Board Agrees to Propose Rules on Use of Oral Sedatives for Children

The California Board of Dental Examiners voted to propose regulating the use of oral sedatives on children in the wake of a 4-year-old’s death after a dental visit.

The board on Friday agreed to set up a committee to develop language for proposed state legislation, which would be considered at the board’s next meeting in November.

The board probably will recommend that the Legislature end an exemption in state law that allows dentists to administer oral sedatives without a permit, board President Peter Hartmann said.

Since 1976, 10 children in California have died dental-related deaths, the board noted.

“I think we recognize we have a problem,” said board member Robert Christoffersen.

The 14-member board did not discuss specifics of its ongoing investigation into the Aug. 4 death of Javier Villa. However, an expert witness retained by the board to evaluate the case has said the boy was improperly sedated and monitored. The 4-year-old died hours after receiving an oral sedative and an injected painkiller before having several cavities filled at Megdal Dental Center in Santa Ana.

A coroner’s preliminary finding was that the boy asphyxiated.