Maryland Mom Furious After School Removes Three Of Her Son’s Teeth

U.S. schools take it upon themselves to have regular physical and dental checkups for their students. However, not every procedure is welcome, as an outraged Maryland mother aptly demonstrated it.

Shanda Flemming, the mother of a nine-year-old boy, was said to have signed a permission slip that she thought gave her permission to have her son's teeth cleaned. However, The New York Daily News reported that it went past that. The school removed three of her boy's teeth during a dental procedure that she did not consent to.

Her son, Michael, was seen crying in his mother's arms, pointing to where his teeth used to be. According to CBS, Shanda Flemming told WJZ, "I'm angry about this. I don't think that it should have happened like that." She also said that she was not told that they are taking off his teeth in the procedure. And as if that was not bad enough, Michael also missed the bus home and had to walk home alone.

It is not clear how the procedure happened without the necessary permissions obtained. But an official with the Baltimore Public Schools said in an e-mail that a signed consent form for dental services had been on file for the young boy. In the same e-mail, the official also noted, "To ensure privacy and adhere to HIPAA regulations, we do not provide details regarding medical or dental care provided to individual students."

This kind of procedure is not actually that rare. The WJZ noted that school dental programs have become more common after a boy from Prince George county died from an infected tooth back in 2007. According to the Redding archives, the 12-year-old boy's tooth infection spread to his brain. Since his death, a surge of calls from concerned parents have them looking over their shoulders for such forms of infection.

Michael Flemming, on the other hand, is now healing from the procedure, but his mother is still on a mission to get answers. For now, Shanda Flemming said that her son is scheduled to see a family dentist after undergoing through the trauma.