North Texas dentist arrested for allegedly treating child while intoxicated

A pediatric dentist in Sherman, Texas, has been charged with a felony after police allege she performed a dental procedure while intoxicated, a claim her attorney said blood tests will refute.

Kelly Buck, 36, was arrested on Monday, Feb. 16, after staff at Pediatric Dentistry of Sherman raised concerns that she was showing signs of intoxication while treating a patient, according to the Sherman Police Department.

Police said officers observed indications of intoxication when they arrived around noon and conducted a field sobriety test, which Buck reportedly failed. 

She was charged with performing surgery while intoxicated, a state jail felony under the Texas Occupations Code.

According to a search warrant affidavit obtained by WFAA, Buck was reportedly performing a filling and crown procedure on an 8-year-old boy when a dental technician noticed behavior that led her to believe Buck was impaired. 

The technician stopped the procedure mid-course, and the boy’s father called 911.

Police later obtained a warrant to collect a blood sample from Buck as part of the investigation. She has denied the allegations.

“Mrs. Buck is not guilty of the charges she was arrested for,” said her attorney, Matthew Hamilton of Jarvis & Hamilton Law Firm. She has been a licensed dentist since 2016 and takes treating her patients very seriously. 

She looks forward to the blood results, which will show that no drugs or alcohol were in her system. I anticipate that will clear her name so she can return to caring for her patients.”

Buck told WFAA that she had offered to take a breathalyzer at the scene, but officers refused. Her attorney also confirmed that police searched her car and found no contraband.

Licensed in Texas since 2016, Buck has no publicly available disciplinary history. At the time of the incident, she was working through a staffing agency in a temporary capacity.

Sherman Police Lt. Sam Boyle called the incident “definitely a very unusual case,” according to KXII.

Buck was booked into Grayson County Jail and released after posting a $10,000 bond. If convicted, she could face up to two years in prison.