North Carolina dentist loses licenses after 2 patients die

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners has revoked the license of a dentist whose use of anesthesia factored into two patient deaths last year.

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The State reports that the board also revoked Shawana Patterson's general anesthesia permit. The board says Patterson gave an "excessive" amount of anesthesia to one patient who disclosed health issues that made him unfit for anesthesia outside of hospitals. It says the High Point dentist dismissed concerns that the patient turned "bluish-gray" until he became unresponsive. He was hospitalized, diagnosed with brain damage and later died.

[Study: Anesthesia, if limited, can be safe for baby's brain]

The second patient suffered a similar fate.

The newspaper says Patterson didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. She is a Howard University College of Medicine alum, according to vitals.com.

Associated Press