Girl dies during dental work

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque teenager on a routine trip to the dentists is dead after apparently suffering a reaction to a common anesthetic.

Medical investigators have not yet pinpointed exactly what killed Chanel Broomfield, 17, a senior at Albuquerque High School. However her family said she went into distress after she was given a common anesthesia.

Classmates learned Wednesday of Broomfield's sudden death.

Broomfield's family told KRQE News 13 she went to the dentist and was given what they were told was Lido-Epi, a combination of Lidocaine and Epinephrine used to numb the gums

She had a reaction, and as the seconds passed Broomfield's condition got worse. She was rushed to the hospital where she died.

Albuquerque dentists Dr. Reid Darnell, who is not involved in Broomfield's case, said Lido-Epi is the most common anesthesia used by dentists.

"To hear something and a complication due to that is a very rare instance," Darnell said. "Almost every single routine dental procedure we do from basic fillings to root canals all the way to dental surgeries."

Darnell said as with any drug there are risks. That is especially true for cardiac patients, people with underlying heart disease and those with certain arrhythmias or irregular heart beats.

That's why it is so crucial for every patient to provide a complete medical history, he said.

"Everything has to be unveiled," Darnell continued. "It can affect what we do ever day in the dental office from routine dentistry to simple cleanings even where drugs are not used.

"I think there is such a link between medical and dental and how they can affect each other."

It is unclear whether Broomfield had a medical condition of which her family was unaware. The Office of the Medical Investigator reported her autopsy was inconclusive.

Investigators and the family are now waiting for toxicology results to determine what drugs or other substances and how much of them were in her body. That may explain if they contributed to or caused her death.

Dentists said Lido-Epi replaced Novocain because it was considered much safer.