Texas dentist arrested in death of 4-year-old girl

A Texas pediatric dentist has been charged with injury to a child after a four-year-old girl died from a toxic overdose of sedatives during a dental procedure earlier this year. Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill, 48, was arrested on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, outside her Fort Worth practice, Cuddle Kids Dental Care, in connection with the death of Aithana Rodríguez-Arriaga on April 1.

According to police and arrest warrants, the child died during a frenectomy, a procedure to release a tight band of tissue under the tongue. Investigators allege Hemphill administered a combination of medications that proved fatal. The girl was given meperidine, also known by the brand name Demerol, along with two other sedatives and nitrous oxide. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the death accidental, caused by meperidine toxicity. The autopsy revealed the child had 793 nanograms per milliliter of meperidine in her system, a level authorities said would be considered toxic even for an adult, as the typical therapeutic range is 200 to 500 nanograms per milliliter.

A critical element of the investigation centers on whether the procedure was medically necessary. Authorities state that both the girl's...