Story Archive

Molar Less

Sabrina Grant of Framingham, Mass., got the news about her 10-year-old autistic son by email, from Wilson Elementary School. “We pulled [Chris’s loose tooth] out today and had him checked by the nurse immediately after,” the email explained. “He is fine. You will be receiving his tooth this afternoon when he arrives home.” Grant wasn’t just bothered by a teacher’s aide pulling the boy’s tooth, she was outraged — and that was before he got home. “I noticed that the loose tooth that was in his mouth was still in his mouth,” she said. “And a molar behind his loose tooth [is what] they had pulled out. They pulled the wrong tooth!” She is considering filing a criminal complaint with police for child abuse. “That’s certainly not something we have as a protocol or deal with from the standpoint of training,” admitted Framingham School Superintendent Dr. Steve Hiersche. (RC/WCVB Boston, WBZ Boston) ...Right: teacher’s aides have to be pre-trained not to use pliers on the kids.