Seven children have been hospitalized with serious infections after undergoing the same dental procedure at an Anaheim clinic, and public health officials said Tuesday they are contacting the parents of 500 other children who also had the treatment there. 
 
 The patients all received pulpotomies at Children’s Dental Group beginning May 3. The procedure, sometimes called a baby tooth root canal, removes infected pulp in order to prevent tooth loss. 
 
 The clinic stopped performing the procedure on Sept. 6, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. In a written response to questions, Sam Gruenbaum, CEO of the chain of dental clinics located throughout the state, said the company is working to identify the source of infection and conduct follow-up exams on the patients who had the procedure. 
 
 “We follow industry standard sterilization and preventative practices and have looked closely at these, as well as reviewing our practices with the Orange County Health Agency,” Gruenbaum said. “We care deeply about our patients, and are doing everything we can to resolve this.” 
 
 The children developed oral cellulitis – a bacterial infection of the mouth that can spread to the gum and bone – and one tested positive for Mycobacterium abscessus, the agency said. Mycobacterium is a commonly occurring bacteria that generally poses no health risk, but on rare occasions can contaminate a water source. 
 
 Preliminary lab results for the other children are expected next week. 
 
 Dr. Eric Handler, Orange County’s health officer, said treatment requires intravenous antibiotics, often long-term and of multiple types, and possible surgery to remove the infection. He said the risk of infection to the 500 other patients the agency is contacting is considered low. 
 
 Handler said the infection source at the clinic has not been confirmed. 
 
 “We think it has to do with the water sources. As to why, we’re still investigating that,” Handler said. 
 
 Last year in Georgia, nine children were hospitalized with Mycobacterium abscessus infections after undergoing pulpotomies at a common clinic. An investigation found that the outbreak was caused by contaminated water that introduced the bacterium during irrigation and drilling. 
 
 The clinic did not monitor water quality or bleach waterlines at the end of each day as recommended, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 In that outbreak, Handler said, only about 1 percent of children who underwent the procedure became ill. He said symptoms may include persistent fever and swelling that doesn’t respond to treatment. 
 
 “Any time you have a surgical procedure, you have an opportunity for some type of infection if precautionary measures are not taken,” Handler said. “This procedure requires an opening of the tooth to preserve the pulp. Any kind of invasive-type procedure is at risk for that.” 
 
 Among the Orange County children with infections, symptoms began 15 to 85 days after the pulpotomy. Many of the hospitalizations occurred within the last week, the agency said. No other infections have been identified at other local dental practices or Children’s Dental Group clinics. 
 
 Gruenbaum said all children who had the procedure from May to September at the East Lincoln Avenue office are being asked to return for a follow-up visit that will include an exam by a dentist, X-rays and questions about fever, swelling and pain. 
 
 He said if no treatment is required, patients will be sent home with information and asked to return again to make sure they remain healthy. 
 
 In Southern California, Children’s Dental Group also has an office in Santa Ana and several in Los Angeles County. 
 
 The Health Care Agency has posted information for parents here. 

 At least seven children have been hospitalized and hundreds more could be tested for suspected bacterial infections after undergoing the same procedure at a dental clinic in Anaheim, California. 
 
 Local health officials have opened an investigation into the situation one Orange County health official called “very unusual.” They have also notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. 
 
 Doctors are closely monitoring three-year-old Gibran and treating him with IV antibiotics, after they operated to remove an abscess caused by a suspected dangerous bacterial infection. 
 
 Family members said they’re lucky his teacher noticed his face was swollen. 
 
 “All this from going to a dentist?” Blackstone asked. 
 
 “Yes, thinking everything’s going to go by well, you know, ‘you’re going to go in and come out,’ but it didn’t happen like that,” said Gibran’s cousin, Stephanie Baron. “Now he has an infection.” 
 
 His parents had taken him to the children’s dental group in Anaheim in May for a common procedure called a pulpotomy, also known as a “baby root canal.” According to health officials, he’s one of more than half a dozen children who had the procedure at the same clinic, then developed symptoms of a serious and potentially life-threatening infection. 
 
 “It’s very resistant to treatment and needs to be taken care of quickly,” said Dr. Eric Handler, a public health officer with the Orange County Health Care Agency, who is investigating the clinic. “I have not seen these types of cases in the 10 years that I’ve been here. Once we were notified, we jumped on it very quickly and notified the CDC.” 
 
 The clinic has agreed to stop performing the procedure for now. 
 
 “We are doing everything, whether it’s sterilization or anything else that relates to taking care of the patients. We are on it,” said Samuel Gruenbaum, CEO of Children’s Dental Group. 
 
 Because the bacteria can progress slowly, health officials say they’re are contacting 500 children who had the procedure as far back as May. 
 
 “Finding out that there’s other patients from the same dentist group that also are in there for the same reason, it makes your heart stop a little,” Baron said. “Like, what’s going on?” 
 
 All seven kids who were hospitalized have developed abscesses, which can take up to six months to appear. 
 
 Health officials are working to locate the source of the bacteria, which they say is most likely water used in equipment during the procedure. Results are expected next week.
– At least seven children have contracted a dangerous bacterial infection after a procedure at an Anaheim dental clinic—and 500 others could potentially have it, health officials say. Seven children have been hospitalized with oral cellulitis, an infection that can spread to gum and bone, after a routine pulpotomy or "baby root canal" at Children's Dental Group, reports the Orange County Register. Each patient developed abscesses that took up to six months to materialize, per CBS News. In one case, a 3-year-old boy had to undergo an operation to remove an abscess that was only detected after his teacher noticed his face was swollen. Oral cellulitis is typically eradicated with intravenous antibiotics or surgery but can be life-threatening. Officials suspect water used during the procedure may have been contaminated. They're now contacting 500 other children who had pulpotomies at the clinic since May. "I have not seen these types of cases in the 10 years that I've been here," says an official at the Orange County Health Care Agency. "It's very resistant to treatment and needs to be taken care of quickly." However, he says the risk of infection in other patients is low. Just 1% of patients became infected in a similar outbreak tied to pulpotomies at a Georgia clinic last year. The CEO of Children's Dental Group, which halted pulpotomies on Sept. 6, says "we follow industry standard sterilization and preventative practices … and are doing everything we can to resolve this."