A three-year-old boy has died after a routine trip to the dentist as his horrified mum looked on.
Little Abiel Valenzuela Zapata had an infection and needed a tooth taking out, so was taken to the dentist by mum Nancy for the procedure.
The nervous tot needed to be sedated and cried as he had an injection in the dentist chair at Tiny Teeth Paediatric Dentistry in Wichita.
His mum told reporters in Kansas that she had tried to reassure her little boy.
She said: "I told him, ‘Papi, everything’s going to be OK. You know you’re fine'."
About three minutes after Abiel was sedated and the dentist worked on his lower jawline, the child’s pulse began to slow and his cheek swelled up, the police report showed.
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The boy was quickly given CPR and was rushed to the hospital, but he later died.
“We didn’t expect to come out of there without a child,” his grieving mother said.
A Wichita police spokesman said it was likely that Abeil suffered an allergic reaction.
Officer Trevor Macy said: “It is believed that the child had an unanticipated reaction to medicine provided during the course of his dental procedures."
He added that there is not currently a criminal investigation in the heartbreaking incident.
The guilt-ridden grieving mum said she is left wondering whether she could have done anything to save her boy.
She added: “As a mother, you feel like you failed him because you didn’t do anything to protect him."
She has vowed to find out more about what happened, and promised he son to raise awareness.
“ 'I couldn’t do anything for you, but I will investigate’ - it’s what I told him.
“It’s the only thing I can do and bring awareness.’’
