Parents call for investigation after toddler dies during Greensboro dental visit

Parents of Er'Mias Mitchell are demanding answers after the 2-year-old died during a dental visit at Valleygate Dental Surgery Center in Greensboro, a case that has put emergency protocols, sedation oversight and parent-safety questions at the center of scrutiny in Guilford County. Family members said Er'Mias went in around 6 a.m. on July 17, 2025, for caps on his front teeth, and ambulances and police arrived about 30 to 40 minutes later.

David Mitchell and Sharde Sherrill have said they want a criminal investigation. Family members also said they were not told about the emergency until after the child had already been taken by ambulance to a hospital. In earlier accounts, relatives said nurses told them the child’s lung had collapsed and CPR lasted about 40 minutes.

The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners later said its investigation found that no dental procedures had begun before the medical emergency. The board also said no dentist or other dental personnel administered the anesthesia or sedation, and that those services were performed by other licensed medical providers. Valleygate said complications can happen unexpectedly and said it had treated more than 13,000 patients since 2019.

The case has widened concern beyond one family and one office on Hickory Ridge Drive. WRAL reported that the state Dental Board had said earlier in 2025 there had been at least eight anesthesia-related deaths in North Carolina over the previous 13 years, a figure that has fueled calls from safety advocates and affected families for tighter rules, including requiring a second anesthesia provider during deep sedation. Those questions now shadow every step of care families are told to verify before a child is sedated, from who is providing the anesthesia to what emergency response is immediately available.

Greensboro police investigated Er'Mias’ death in July 2025, and Valleygate reopened on July 29, 2025. The state Dental Board said it closed its investigation by Oct. 1, 2025, but the family’s push for a criminal probe has kept the case alive in Guilford County and underscored how quickly a routine dental appointment can turn into a fatal emergency.