Wichita, Kan.-based Tiny Teeth Pediatric Dentistry has released a statement after 3-year-old Abiel Zapata became unresponsive during a dental procedure and later died, reports CBS affiliate KWCH-DT.
Nancy Valenzuela told Fox affiliate KSNW-TV that she took her son Abiel to Tiny Teeth Pediatric Dentistry because he needed teeth pulled after a gum infection.
Police were called to the office July 6 to assist emergency medical personnel after a 911 call reported an unresponsive child. The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
"It is believed that the child had an unanticipated reaction to medicine provided during the course of his dental procedures,'' police spokesperson Trevor Macy told KAKE.
Tiny Teeth Pediatric Dentistry's attorney told KWCH-DT that the practice hasn't experienced this kind of incident before.
"Tiny Teeth Pediatric Dentistry is devastated by the death of Abiel Valenzuela Zapata. We are praying for the family during this time and ask for the community to do so, as well," reads the practice's statement released through its attorney.
"Like Abiel's family, we, too, want to understand how this tragic event may have occurred. Our practice has never experienced an incident like this, and we had no reason to expect this procedure would be anything other than routine.
"We would like to thank the EMS first responders who arrived only a few minutes after we called 911. They continued the CPR efforts we had begun and worked feverishly to save Abiel."