Family members told WFMY News 2 that the child had an appointment at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Greensboro Police Department is investigating the death of a child whose family said died after an incident at a local dental surgical center.
The grandmother of 2-year-old Er’Mias Mitchell told WFMY News 2 that the family came to Valleygate Dental Surgery Center in Greensboro from Salisbury on Thursday for an appointment for the child to get caps on some of his front teeth. Family members say the boy went back for their procedure around 6 a.m., and within 30-40 minutes, ambulances and police officers showed up at the office.
The family said the child was taken by an ambulance to a local emergency room. The family also said it wasn’t notified by the dental surgical center of any issues until after the child had been taken to the emergency room.
“Can you imagine as a mom, you bringing your child in to get dental work and not being able to carry him back down the road,” said the child’s great aunt, Constance McCrae. “She sat and watched the ambulance ride by,” she said of the child’s mother.
His maternal grandmother wears a necklace every day with a pendant of her two grandsons’ portraits engraved on it. She said Er’Mias’ birth was an answered prayer.
“I don’t wish this on my worst enemy. No family should have to go through what we suffered today,” said Kyra Smith. “This is the worst traumatic experience I have experienced — losing my child, mine, my blood.”
Er’Mias’ parents — David Mitchell and Sharde Sherrill — spoke with WFMY News 2 on Thursday evening. Both were devastated, and both want to know what went wrong that caused their son’s death.
“An hour goes by and I tell his dad, ‘Well, he should be about done, you know,'” Sherill said. “The receptionist came out. She’s talking about the Mitchell family. And she said, ‘You need to go in this room right here.’ And before I stepped in that room, I said, ‘David, something’s not right. I’m scared.'”
Sherill told WFMY News 2 that Er’Mias turned 2 in April. She said he loved dinosaurs.
“He was so smart, too,” Mitchell said.
Both were also upset about the way the dental surgical center handled the situation.
“They said they did CPR on my baby for 40 minutes,” Sherill said. “And I said, ‘Ma’am, how long can you go without oxygen to your brain? Why didn’t you come to the lobby in 10 minutes to tell me what my child was going through … Then my son left in an ambulance by himself.”
The North Carolina Dental Board said it will be investigating the incident.
The board also shared the following statement with WFMY News 2:
“First, all members and staff of the Dental Board join with all who mourn the death of Er’ Mias Mitchell and, though strangers to his family, we are deeply saddened by this tragic news.
Second, the public can have confidence that the Dental Board will fully investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. At the moment, we ask you and your viewers to consider that this incident did not occur in a dental office. It appears that Valleygate Dental Surgery Center is an accredited surgery center utilizing the services of both medical and dental professionals and is not licensed, certified, or accredited by the NC Dental Board. Rather, it is licensed through the NC Department of Health and Human Services. Early indications are that the Dental Board’s investigation will focus on whether this death occurred as a result of sedation administered by a medical provider (over which the Dental Board has no jurisdiction) or was the result of improper dental treatment which, of course, is within our jurisdiction.”
Greensboro Police told WFMY News 2 that officers were dispatched to 510 Hickory Ridge Drive, the address of the dental surgical center, at 7:16 a.m. on Thursday for a “law assistance” call for service. Police confirmed they are now conducting a death investigation involving a child.
“With this being an active investigation, further details are not being disclosed at this time,” police said in a statement.
Stay with us while we work to learn more.