FATAL DENTAL OPERATION.

Evening Star, Issue 10701, 13 August 1898, Page 2

FATAL DENTAL OPERATION.

Francis Henry Catchlove, a commercial traveller, living at North Adelaide, reported to the police that seven weeks ago his daughter Maud, aged twelve years, underwent a dental operation. On the following day she was taken very ill, and remained so until July 28, when she died. At an inquest Dr A. Bennet, dentist, said the tooth which was found in the child's lung was undoubtedly a temporary one, which probably would have been so loose that it could have been extracted with the finger or the tongue. Thise teelh sometimes came out of their own accord. Dr Lendon gave evidence as to the effect of foreign bodies in the air passages, and stated that sometimes they might lie for years without causing mischief. In reply to a question as to whether a tooth would go down if the dentist used ordinary care, he said that even when the greatest skill and care were exercised an accident might happen. The jury, after forty minutes' consideration, gave a v« r iit to the effect that they were unanimously of opinion that the tooth found in the long was extracted by Thomson and caused the death of Maud Catchlove. They added a rider stating that they considered Thomson very much to blame for not having informed a doctor at once, and that he should use more care when extracting teeth.