Girl, 8, with phobia of dentists refused to open her mouth after traumatic visit - and starved to death



Tragic: Sophie Waller died from from acute renal failure caused by starvation and dehydration

A girl of eight starved to death in her own bed after suffering a phobia of dentists so severe that she would not even open her mouth to eat, an inquest has heard.

Sophie Waller's fear was so extreme that she was taken to hospital just to have a tooth removed.



The coroner was told that Sophie developed her phobia at the age of four when a dentist accidentally cut her tongue during a check up.



When she cracked her tooth on a boiled sweet four years later, she refused to visit a dentist and was referred her to hospital by the family's GP after she refused to eat for three days.

Doctors at the Royal Cornwall Hospital decided to remove all her milk teeth in one go to avoid repeating the procedure - a decision her parents claim they did not consent to, and which made the situation even worse.



Afterwards, Sophie would not open her mouth and had to be fed through a tube.



She was later discharged, however, and yesterday her mother, Janet, 34, said she had begged the hospital to have Sophie readmitted after she began to waste away at home.

Mrs Waller and her husband Richard, 35, claim they contacted the hospital on several occasions but were refused permission to bring their daughter back in and instead referred to a child psychologist who told them 'not to worry'.

But Sophie refused to talk or swallow food as her parents tried to feed her with fruit and drinks supplemented with vitamins.

She became so thin she could not walk on her own and was found dead in bed on December 2, 2005 - two weeks after leaving the hospital.



She weighed less than four stone.



Pathologist Marianne Brundle found she died of acute kidney failure because of starvation and dehydration.



Her parents, of St Dennis, Cornwall, said that by removing all eight of her milk teeth the hospital had left their daughter traumatised and unable to eat.

Mrs Waller said: 'I signed a form to consent to have one tooth being removed, but not eight.

'The next thing I know she comes out of theatre and there was blood all round her mouth. All her milk teeth had been taken out.

'She didn't like dentists already so she was very freaked out. She had blood running all down her face. The poor girl was devastated.

Janet Waller said her daughter was 'devastated' when she discovered her teeth had been removed

'It was very scary for her. She soon needed a feeding tube because she stopped eating and drinking.'

After leaving hospital Sophie's parents say they tried to feed her watermelon and oranges but most of the food was spilled down her front as she wouldn't swallow.

Mrs Waller says they contacted the hospital with their concerns but were told not to bring her back and referred her to child psychologist Kerry Davison.

The couple claim say they rang her at least once a day but say she told them 'everything would be fine' and not to worry as long as she was eating something.

Mr Waller said: 'It could have easily been avoided if we had just taken her into hospital instead of listening to that woman.

'If I had just said 'I am going to take her anyway' we would not be sitting here now.

'I asked her to come round and see her but she kept saying there is nothing to worry about and I'll come next week.'

Mrs Waller, a nursery teacher, said: 'I kissed her goodnight and told her I loved her as normal.

'In the morning I noticed that Sophie looked like she was asleep so went to make a cup of tea and I though I'd wake up Sophie after.

'When I went up she was lying face up and I knew she was dead. She looked cold. I took her downstairs and Richard tried to perform CPR.'

Doctors found no food in her stomach or gut after she died even though she had previously been a 'tubby girl' who loved to eat.

Mrs Waller said: 'Everyone has a phobia and Sophie's was a dentist phobia and a phobia about her teeth.

'I wish now that Kerry Davidson had come out and looked at her or if the hospital let me return it would have saved her.

'She was a bubbly little girl who loved going to school who loved her food and would eat anything.

Her parents admit that after leaving hospital their daughter was not seen by any doctor.

Pathologist Marianne Brundle carried out a by post mortem and found she died of acute renal failure because of starvation and dehydration.

The inquest, in Truro, continues.