Cause of Dental Death Unknown

An autopsy on a 4-year-old boy who stopped breathing in a dentist’s chair this week and died on the way to the hospital yielded “no obvious cause” for his death, police said Tuesday.

Javier Villa of Santa Ana had been strapped into a “papoose board” used to restrain squirming children while undergoing some cavity work Monday at the Megdal Dental Care offices.

Full toxicology reports will not be available for six to eight weeks. Both the Orange County coroner and Santa Ana police are continuing to investigate, but say there is no sign of foul play or abuse.

“There was no evidence of trauma, it’s not suspicious,” said Police Lt. Robert Helton. “There’s no evidence a crime was committed. We just want to know why this little boy died.”

Villa was a patient at the dental facility at 1631 N. Bristol St., one of several dental clinics owned by Philip Megdal, who has been licensed with the state for 30 years.

A previous checkup showed that the boy had cavities, and early Tuesday afternoon, he returned to have them filled. He was placed on a “papoose board,” which prevents young children from squirming, said Police Sgt. Randall Eldridge. It is unclear whether the boy was under anesthesia but police said he was given a shot for his gums before the procedure.

Dr. Gabriella Pham, who has had a dental license for two years, was working on the boy, Eldridge said. At some point, staffers noticed the boy was “in distress,” had stopped breathing, and that his skin color was changing. He was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived, Helton said.

Emergency treatment was continued on the boy until he arrived at UCI Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

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Philip Megdal, head of Megdal Dental Care, issued a statement expressing his condolences.

“We are at a loss as to why Javier reacted as he did,” he said. “His visit was routine. We performed the standard treatment on Javier that has been performed on hundreds of thousands of children who are apprehensive at visiting the dentist.”

No disciplinary action has been taken against Megdal Dental Care, according to a staffer at the California Dental Board, which licenses dentists and registers their businesses.

Helton said police and coroner’s officials would continue their investigations and try to determine whether Javier had any preexisting condition that could have contributed to the death.

“At some point, we hope to be able to get together and arrive at a cause of death,” Helton said.