A lawsuit accuses a Spring dental clinic of malpractice after a Houston man died last year after being treated for a tooth extraction.<\/p>\n
Donzell Jarrod Conrad, 33, was seeking treatment Oct. 8, 2024, for a chipped molar at Castle Dental at 2129 FM 2920 Road. Conrad was\u00a0referred to oral surgeon Pasha Sanders, who is named in a lawsuit filed in Harris County by The Ammons Law Firm on behalf of Conrad’s family.<\/p>\n
Both Castle Dental and affiliate Smile Brands, owned by private equity firm Gryphon Investors, are accused of negligence in the suit.\u00a0The lawsuit also accuses Castle Dental and Smile Brands of putting profit over patient care.<\/p>\n
ON PUBLIC SAFETY: Driver strikes and kills pedestrian with walker on Aldine Bender road in north Houston<\/a><\/p>\n The lawsuit claims Sanders did not have, and should have had, a dedicated anesthesiologist present while\u00a0administering sedatives to extract the tooth, and should have exercised more caution given Conrad’s medical history, which included diabetes, hypertension, obesity and indicators of possible sleep apnea. <\/p>\n “Our lawsuit alleges that Castle Dental, Smile Brands and its oral surgeon performed deep sedation procedures on a medically high-risk patient in a dental office that was not equipped for it and without a dedicated anesthesia professional present,”\u00a0Ammons said during a news conference last week. “This case is not complicated. This is about sedation safety 101.”<\/p>\n Shortly after the surgery, Conrad went into a medical crisis before an emergency crew took him from the clinic to a\u00a0nearby hospital, where he remained for four weeks before he died, the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n Sanders, Castle Dental and Smile Brands did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n Sanders’ license is active and no disciplinary actions or remedial plans have been filed since the license was issued in 2017, according to the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners website.<\/p>\n