Round Lake Beach dentist cleared of battery charge

A Round Lake Beach dentist was cleared Wednesday of battery charges stemming from an August incident involving a 5-year-old patient.

Hannah Kim, owner of Grande Smile Dental, 978 E. Rollins Road, gave the girl a shot of novocaine before working on a cavity during an Aug. 30 visit.

According to the girl's mother, Sandra Morton, her daughter started crying after the shot so Kim used her hand to cover the girl's mouth and said, 'You have to shut up, I can't have you crying in here. I have other patients.' The girl then vomited, her mother said.

Kim testified Wednesday she did not actually make contact, but only put her hand up to the girl's mouth to calm her down.

Kim also said she was not in the room when the girl started vomiting, as Morton testified.

Associate Circuit Judge David P. Brodsky said there was no connection between Kim's use of what she called Hand Over Mouth technique and the patient's subsequent vomiting.

"What we have here is a child who became upset at a dentist office and threw up," Brodsky said.

When reached by phone, Indru Punwani, chairman of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said Hand Over Mouth technique used to be taught but is no longer recognized.

"The intent is to gently place fingers over lips and mouth to facilitate communication with the child," Punwani said, adding he doesn't recommend anyone using it or teaching it.

Kim graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago and has practiced dentistry for seven years. She would not comment Wednesday.

Kim's attorney, Gerald Snyder, said the charge did not hurt his client's business.

"I've done some research and she is well-regarded in the profession," Snyder said.

Morton said she was disappointed at the outcome but did not regret her decision to file charges.

"I absolutely would do this again," she said. "I have to stand up for my child."