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(CBS) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. The Chicago dentist whose 5-year-old patient slipped into a coma and died last year should have his license suspended for six months, a state panel said Tuesday.

The Illinois Board of Dentistry issued its recommendation in the case of Dr. Hicham Riba, the dentist who treated and sedated 5-year-old Diamond Brownridge before she fell into a coma and later died in September.

The panel also recommended that, following the suspension, Riba's license be placed on probation for at least four years; that Riba's specialty license for pediatric dentistry be suspended for at least three years, that his controlled substance license be suspended for at least five years; and that his permit to sedate patients be revoked.

Riba's license has been suspended since Sept. 30, 2006. Diamond died on Sept. 27, 2006, four days after she was sedated so that she could have two cavities filled and caps could be placed on her front teeth.

Diamond's mother, Ommettress Travis, said her daughter stopped breathing at some point during that visit to Riba's clinic in the Little Village neighborhood.

"They did tell me they were going to sedate her, but I thought it was a regular dental procedure," Travis has said.

Travis said she returned to the dental exam room to find her daughter unresponsive and not breathing.

She later added Diamond received a triple dose of sedatives -- an oral agent, an intravenous drug and nitrous oxide gas -- during her treatment.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office determined that a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by the anesthesia caused Diamond's death. The manner of death was considered natural.

Calling his practices an "imminent danger to the public," the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation said in September that Riba failed to properly monitor Diamond Brownridge's blood pressure, pulse and respiration during her treatment.

The agency's complaint also said Riba recorded that Diamond was "alert and responsive" on discharge, even though her mother found her in a comatose state in the dental chair.

Riba has 20 days to request a new hearing on his case before the Board of Dentistry before the board's recommendation will be passed on to the director of the Department of Professional Regulation for a final determination.

The state complaint said that Diamond received two injections of diazepam or Valium within a five-minute period, followed by oral Valium, lidocaine, several other medications, and the nitrous oxide. The regulators did not say whether the combination or the dosages were appropriate for the 35-pound girl.

They did contend, though, that the radiographs taken of Diamond's teeth at Riba's clinic were of too poor quality to be used in diagnosis.

Riba has been in practice since 1997 and has a clean disciplinary history, according to state records.

CBS 2 has left messages for Riba's attorneys and Diamond's family seeking comment on the panel's recommendations.

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