Judge Wants to Strip Houston Dentist of License

HOUSTON, TX — Bethaniel Johnson may lose her dentistry license, primarily over what happened to four-year-old Nevaeh Hill.

In January, Hill went to Jefferson's practice to have damaged teeth extracted and crowns installed. Jefferson severely overmedicated the girl on sedation drugs and failed to properly administer oxygen, at one point letting the saturation levels drop to 49 when it shouldn't go below 90.

It took five hours for Jefferson to notice her mistake, by then it was too late. When Hill was admitted to Texas Children's Hospital the doctors determined that Hill had suffered brain damage.

After Hill's case came to light, the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners — the state agency that oversees dentists in Texas — voted to temporarily suspend and begin the process of permanently Jefferson's license to practice dentistry.

Revoking a dentist's license is a fairly long process in Texas. The case is presented to an administrative law judge who hears oral arguments and then takes months to rule.

Arguments in Jefferson's case were presented to Administrative Law Judge Holly Vandrovec in May. The judge recently recommended that Jefferson should be stripped of her license, a process that will take until the annual meeting of the board of dental examiners' meeting in November.

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