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A dentist in southern California is currently under investigation by the state and the county for its improper water line usage. Thirty child patients between the ages of three and nine who had gone to the practice for a pulpotomy between March and July have been admitted to the hospital to treat a bacterial infection they contracted from water at the dentist's office.
Dr. Matthew Zahn from the Orange County Health Care Agency suspects that the water used during this procedure (basically the child's version of getting a root canal) was infected with bacteria.
Unfortunately, Dr. Zahn suspects that more of these child patients will be admitted to the hospital in the coming weeks. "Several hundred people had these pulpotomies," he explained, and symptoms of this infection (called Mycobacterium abscessus) can take anywhere between several weeks to several months to appear.
The hospitalized children all experienced pain in the swollen, red areas beside their affected tooth. In some cases, the bacteria even spread to their jaw and gum. Doctors were forced to remove part of the jaw itself in order to stop the infection in some children.
Most people who encounter M. abscessus are usually able to flush out the bacteria from their system. Unfortunately, because these children had the bacteria enter their body through an opening in their mouth that was then later closed by recapping a tooth on top, the bacteria was trapped and encouraged to grow in the space.
Parent Cecilia Roman said this is precisely what happened to her child. At the end of the day, she had three teeth taken out. Her face was swollen," Roman recalled. "I feel like I let my daughter down."
The clinic is currently being investigated for its water practices, but some parents, like Roman, want the clinic shut down. "I want their license revoked. I want that place to be shut down."
