FORT WORTH, Texas, July 18 (Our Texas Times) — Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill, a Fort Worth dentist, was arrested and charged in connection with the death of a 4-year-old patient after a dental procedure at her clinic, according to arrest records and an arrest affidavit cited in reporting.
The case has drawn attention because investigators say the child was given meperidine, a powerful opioid pain medicine also known as Demerol, along with other sedatives during a routine tongue-tie procedure. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner later ruled the death was caused by meperidine toxicity, according to the records cited in reports.
Here is what the allegations and official records say.
What happened at the dental office?
The procedure took place on April 1 at Cuddle Kids Dental Care in Fort Worth, on Sycamore School Road, according to the arrest affidavit described in reporting. The child was identified in records as Aithana Arriaga, also listed as Aithana Rodríguez-Arriaga.
Investigators say the child was undergoing a frenectomy, a procedure often used to treat a tongue-tie, when Hemphill administered meperidine, other sedating drugs and nitrous oxide. The records cited in reporting also say Hemphill was the only person who gave the drugs to the child.
According to the affidavit described in reporting, the child later developed respiratory distress and died. Those allegations have not been tested in court.
Why is meperidine important in this case?
Meperidine is an opioid medication used for pain relief. Like other opioids, it can slow breathing and become dangerous in high doses.
Reporting based on the arrest records says toxicology found a meperidine level of 793 nanograms per milliliter. Doctors quoted in the records said a normal adult range is about 200 to 500 nanograms per milliliter and that the level would have been high or toxic even for an adult.
The records also say the medical examiner told investigators the amount of meperidine found in the child’s system would have been high for an adult and that the medication was given twice.
What do investigators say Hemphill did wrong?
The affidavit described in reporting says investigators believe Hemphill failed to recognize or properly respond to the child’s breathing problems.
The reports also say she used flumazenil instead of naloxone, also known as Narcan. Naloxone is the medicine commonly used to reverse opioid overdoses. Flumazenil is used for some sedatives called benzodiazepines, not for opioid reversal.
Investigators also say other drugs were involved, including chloral hydrate, hydroxyzine and nitrous oxide. Fox 4 News reported that a temporary suspension order from the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners also said chloral hydrate was administered.
What did the medical examiner and dental board do?
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident caused by meperidine toxicity, according to the reporting.
Fox 4 News reported that the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners temporarily suspended Hemphill’s dental license on July 15. The board’s order was not included in full in the snippets reviewed, but the report says the suspension was tied to the case.
Fox 4 also reported that Hemphill was released on a $10,000 bond.
What is the status of the case now?
Hemphill has been arrested and charged, but the allegations come from police records and an affidavit, not from a court finding.
The reporting available for this article does not include a defense statement, a plea, a court name, a case number or a judge. It also does not include the full medical examiner report or the complete arrest affidavit.
For now, the case is best understood as two separate issues moving in parallel: a criminal case focused on how the child was sedated and monitored, and a licensing case that led to the temporary loss of Hemphill’s dental authority in Texas.
