California dental office shut down for water contamination in 2016, infection issues allegedly persist

Another 65 families filed lawsuits against Anaheim, Calif.-based Children's Dental claiming the dental practice maintained poor water filtration systems and conducted unnecessary pulpotomies, according to The Orange County Register.

The county's health department took samples from the clinic's water system and found a potentially deadly mycobacterium abscessus in various samples.

Currently, 150 families have filed lawsuits against Children's Dental, which has since been acquired by Orange, Calif.-based Western Dental. The Anaheim clinic in question on East Lincoln Avenue is not owned or operated by Western Dental, but has changed hands.The procedures in question occurred between April and July 2016 when 500 pediatric patients underwent pulpotomies.

This is not the first time the clinic has faced issues with its water lines. In 2016, Children's Dental shut down twice after tests showed bacteria in the water.

The families claim Children's Dental was negligent for failing to properly sanitize and maintain water lines. Many of the children who underwent pulpotomies had to be hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (Calif.).

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