Bacteria In Dentist’s Water Sends 30 Kids To Hospital

An outbreak that sent 30 children to Southern California hospitals and could have long-term effects on their health, is raising awareness about the risk of bacterial infection from water at the dentist’s office. All of the children had a pulpotomy, essentially a "child root canal" and were infected by water used during the procedure, said Dr. Matthew Zahn of the Orange County Health Care Agency. The cases have been traced to the Children’s Dental Group in Anaheim, with patients ages 3 to 9 years old all visiting the clinic between March and July.