Trigger warning: This article contains information about child abuse which may be distressing for some readers.
A mother in the US state of Utah has been charged with felony child abuse after she forcibly pulled two teeth from the mouth of her seven-year-old son.
Police say that 47-year-old Jeannine Degaston, bought hand sanitiser and needle-nose pliers from Walmart on April 2 before taking her son into the store’s restroom.
The boy’s older brother heard the child screaming and rushed to help him, KSL News reports.
The boy told his brother that one of his teeth was loose, but the other was only slightly loose. Police took the boy to a dentist, who confirmed the teeth did not need to be removed.
The seven-year-old boy's teeth were removed in pieces and it's believed his mother didn't use any kind anaesthetic during the procedure.
According to charging documents, she told police she pulled the boy's teeth because they were infected.
She has been charged with felony child abuse in relation to the incident, with police confirming she has a history of mental illness.
She is due to appear in court next month.
Top Comments
So sad, the fact that the boy went through all this pain but also that she has mental illness. Not all mothers do this. Could it also be given dental and any healthcare is so expensive in the US that she had to resort to doing this? Although why she wouldn't do it at home Is odd.
Go back to the 70s and prior and you'd be surprised how many of had our wobbly baby teeth taken out by our parents one way or another. Including tyong a piece of string around it and the other end either being held by the hand and yanked or tied to a door know and using the door's momentum to pull it out. I'm sure even pliers were used by some.
Yes how things are done have changed a lot and the advice now is to let them fall out on their own, but it was not always so.
And let's not forget that dentistry is still financially beyond the reach of a hell of a lot of people even in Australia, can't imagine the cost in America if yr not insured. .