(CBS) CHICAGO State regulators have suspended the license of the dentist in whose office 5-year-old Diamond Brownridge fell into a coma after being sedated and later died.
Calling Dr. Hicham Riba's , practices an "imminent danger to the public,"' the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said he failed to properly monitor Diamond Brownridge's blood pressure, pulse and respiration during her treatment last Saturday at his storefront clinic.
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.
Diamond died Wednesday at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She had been on life support for four days after her visit to Little Angel Dental in the Little Village neighborhood to have some teeth filled and others capped.
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.
Diamond's mother, Ommettress Travis, said her daughter stopped breathing at some point Saturday morning at a dentist's clinic in the Little Village neighborhood.
According to her mother, the 5-year-old was given three different sedatives before having two cavities filled and caps put on her front teeth.
"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 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.
Attorneys for Riba confirmed the suspension late Friday and said a hearing has been set for Oct. 13. They also released a brief statement from Riba, in which he said: "Diamond's loss is tragic. As we have stated before, we have fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so."
Riba, 40, of Addison, faces up to $10,000 in fines for each of the four violations alleged in the state complaint. Those charges include making false or fraudulent representations, professional incompetence and gross malpractice.
Riba has been in practice since 1997 and has a clean disciplinary history, according to state records.
The family's attorney, Thomas K. Prindable , said, "If they were properly monitoring, even if they gave her too much sedation for her body weight and body mass, they should've caught that immediately and reacted to that immediately."
But in a written statement, Riba said all of his patients "are monitored throughout their procedures and never left alone."
According to her mother, the 5-year-old was given three different sedatives before having two cavities filled and caps put on her front teeth.
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