A SWEEPING review of dental guidelines will be launched following a hearing into how a young boy was left brain damaged after a trip to the dentist.
Dentist Jonathan Schonberg, of Anthonys Farm, Anthonys Lane, Hatfield Broad Oak, was accused of failing in his responsibility after three-year-old Jay Ali lapsed into unconsciousness after having 13 fillings in his teeth in 1995.
Mr Schonberg appeared at a disciplinary hearing held by the General Dental Council last week but, after lengthy discussions behind closed doors, the council ruled that the dentist had no case to answer.
And Margaret Seward, president of the General Dental Council, vowed that dental guidelines would be reviewed in the light of the hearing.
She said: This case has raised fundamental issues in terms of the relative responsibilities of the professionally qualified staff involved in the giving of general anaesthesia in dentistry.
The hearing heard how the youngster, from Brimsdown Avenue, Enfield, who is now six, stopped breathing in a recovery room following dental treatment at the Cheshunt surgery.
Jay had been connected to a heart monitor, but when a warning alarm sounded on several occasions, nurse Anne Marshall disconnected his hand from the machine and told his parents the machine was not working.
But alarm bells rang for Jays mother, Tracey Ali, when she noticed her sons lips had turned blue and it was only with considerable difficulty that the boy was resuscitated.
Mrs Ali told the hearing: I looked over and I saw his lip was turning blue. She (the nurse) took a tissue and wiped his mouth. She then turned around with a look of sheer horror on her face and she pushed us out of the room.
Jay was rushed to Chase Farm Hospital where he spent two days in intensive care and three weeks on a ward. Medical tests showed he had suffered brain damage and he now suffers from slow and slurred speech and is registered disabled
Disciplinary proceedings are being considered against recovery nurse Mrs Marshall and an unnamed anaesthetist who also treated Jay.
South African born Mr Schonberg had been accused of failing in his responsibility to Jay by employing Mrs Marshall who failed to exercise a proper degree of skill and attention in monitoring Jay while recovering.
But his barrister, James Watson, successfully argued that although the case was an obvious tragedy, there was no safe evidence to justify a verdict of serious professional misconduct.
Following last weeks verdict, Mrs Ali said she and her husband Liam were unsatisfied with the result and wanted the full story.
She said: We want to know who is responsible and want to know what happened. Jay is in a normal school now but hes lagging behind the other children and needs extra help with his reading.
Dentist Mr Schonberg said he did not wish to make any comment.
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