Manitoba family still searching for answers nearly 2 years after daughter died following dental procedure | CBC News

Virgina Blatz, 23, died on Nov. 27, 2024, after going to Morden clinic to have wisdom teeth removed

The parents of a 23-year-old woman who died after she went to have her wisdom teeth removed at a southern Manitoba dental clinic say they've been left "shattered" and searching for answers nearly two years after their daughter's death. 

Virginia Blatz was pronounced dead in hospital on Nov. 27, 2024, after going to the Boundary Trails Dental Centre in Morden, Man., to have her wisdom teeth removed that morning. 

An autopsy found Virginia's death was caused by local anesthetic systemic toxicity — when levels of the pain-blocking medication become too high in a person's blood — "resulting from an inadvertent intravascular injection of local anesthetic," according to the family's lawyer Troy Harwood-Jones. 

Virginia's mother Victoria Blatz said her daughter was keen to get her wisdom teeth removed because she had been suffering with a sore mouth in the days leading up to the procedure. 

Victoria dropped Virginia off at the dental clinic on the morning of Nov. 27, 2024, and planned to pick her up as soon as the appointment was over.

The clinic called Victoria a short time later, saying her daughter was having a seizure. 

Victoria said the clinic was frenzied when she returned. It was as if she "walked into a nightmare" when she saw her daughter there, she said. 

"It's obviously the worst thing I've ever seen. It's the worst experience I've ever had. It was terrible," Victoria said. 

As the two-year anniversary of Virginia's death creeps closer, her father Dulaney Blatz says the family is still searching for answers about what happened in the dentist's chair. 

The Manitoba Dental Association began investigating the incident, which happened when Virginia was under the care of Dr. Ronald Janz, shortly after it occurred. 

Janz is still listed as a general dentist on the Boundary Trails Dental Centre's website. According to the dental association's registry, he is currently restricted in his ability to administer local anesthetic drugs.