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Virginia Blatz died from local anesthetic systemic toxicity caused by an inadvertent injection into a blood vessel in 2024.<\/p>\n
Virginia Blatz went to Boundary Trails Dental Centre in Morden on Nov. 27, 2024, to have her wisdom teeth removed, but never returned home.<\/p>\n
An autopsy confirmed she died from local anesthetic systemic toxicity caused by an inadvertent injection into a blood vessel.<\/p>\n
Victoria dropped her daughter off at the dentist\u2019s office that morning and received a call to return to the office a short time later. When she arrived, the office had been cleared out and an employee took her to a room to ask her some questions, but Victoria cut the conversation short and went to find her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I found was an absolute nightmare. Absolute nightmare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Virginia was receiving emergency medical treatment after having several seizures. She died after being taken to hospital.<\/p>\n
Since that day, her parents have sought information about the incident to no avail. They were told by the association they are not entitled to information about the investigation because of regulations in the province\u2019s Dental Association Act. The association\u2019s registrar, not the family, is considered the complainant in the case against the dentist.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s bad enough losing a daughter, and then for the people that I feel are responsible for it, they should at least help,\u201d Dulaney said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has crashed our world to pieces and we just want answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Ronald Janz, the dentist who treated Virginia, continues to practice. The dental association\u2019s website notes Janz has several restrictions on his practice, including a restriction on administration of local anesthetic and a restriction on the use of sedation services.<\/p>\n
Janz has been a dentist since 2015.<\/p>\n
The Blatzes were told Janz\u2019s practice has been \u201cheavily limited or subjected to strict and constant supervision\u201d since the tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sanctions that have been put against him are so inadequate,\u201d Victoria said. \u201cWe want assurance that other patients are protected. We don\u2019t want other families having to go through this or made to feel this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chief executive officer of the Manitoba Dental Association said Thursday in an email to the Free Press there was \u201cnothing to report\u201d on the investigation into Virginia\u2019s death. Rafi Mohammed and the association\u2019s registrar, Arun Misra, did not respond to follow-up requests to explain the investigation process or whether the association would report its findings.<\/p>\n
Unlike other regulatory bodies, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba and the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba, the dental association does not publish its investigations, reports or disciplinary actions.<\/p>\n
Alberta, B.C., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan\u2019s regulatory bodies all publish disciplinary decisions for those in the dental profession found guilty of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want assurance that other patients are protected. We don\u2019t want other families having to go through this or made to feel this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
A professor of ethics said the lack of transparency should outrage the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a responsibility, an obligation, to treat the public with respect, which means providing the public with information when things go seriously wrong,\u201d said Arthur Schafer, the founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba. \u201cThis is a failure of accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public is entitled to know what kind of disciplinary action the profession has imposed in order to protect the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In its 2025 annual report, former president Jeffrey Hein wrote the association \u201ccontinues to experience increased public scrutiny,\u201d and the board of directors had prioritized \u201ctransparency, accountability, and alignment with the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blatzes filed a complaint with the association against Janz in June in an attempt to have information made available to them but have received little correspondence. They are now considering legal action against the regulatory body.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cSome people go away eventually. We don\u2019t,\u201d Victoria said.<\/p>\n
Virginia was a healthy 23-year-old who had just gotten a new job as a welder, her parents said. She was saving up money to buy her own hobby farm near Lowe Farm, where she lived.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a failure of accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
A provincial spokesperson said the province does not insert itself into dentistry investigations. When a death occurs in a private facility, the province\u2019s medical examiner can refer the file to police if there is suspected criminal negligence, or it can be referred to the appropriate college of the health-care provider.<\/p>\n
\u2014 with files from Scott Billeck<\/p>\n
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Nicole Buffie Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College\u2019s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Multimedia producer
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