A trip to the dentist turned tragic when a 9-year-old San Diego girl died just hours after undergoing a root canal by a dentist who had previously been investigated following a near-fatal patient incident.

Silvanna Moreno, a 9-year-old from San Diego, had been dealing with persistent tooth pain since October 2024. After months of discomfort, she was referred to Dreamtime Dentistry in Vista for a root canal on one of her molars.

On March 18, the child was taken to the new clinic for a lengthy three-hour procedure, which included a root canal, crown placement, and the extraction of several decayed teeth – both baby and permanent – according to People.

Unreported fever
The day before the procedure, Silvanna reportedly had experienced a fever, which was resolved with children’s Tylenol.
However, a spokesperson for Dreamtime Dentistry claimed they were unaware of any recent illness, as Itzel de Jesús, Moreno’s mother, “completed and signed a pre-operative check-in form indicating ‘No’ when asked if the patient was sick,” the LA Times reports.