A family is searching for answers after their 3-year-old daughter died after a dental procedure.
Daleyza Hernandez Avila, 3, of Stockton, California, was sedated before she had dental work done on her molars and had a tooth pulled on June 12, but never woke up, according to KCRA.
An ambulance arrived at the scene and officials informed Araceli Avila, the child's mother, that Daleyza's heart had stopped beating, but that she was in stable condition. Avila told KCRA that she was not allowed to see her daughter, who was taken to a hospital where she later died.
“I’m looking for justice, so what happened doesn’t happen to other mothers. So they don’t have to feel the same pain I feel after losing my daughter,” Araceli Avila told KCRA.
David Thompson, the administrator for Children’s Dental Surgery Center, told KCRA that the center, which annually treats thousands of patients under 9 years old, commonly sedates 3-, 4- or 5-year-olds.
The center received death threats online following Daleyza’s death, forcing its closure on Friday.
An investigation into the death is ongoing.
“We are conducting a child death investigation. At this time, it appears nothing criminal has happened, but this is still an active investigation,” Stockton Police Public Information Officer Joe Silva told KCRA.
Read more at KCRA.
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