Mom is charged with felony after her daughter licked a tongue depressor before putting it back

A Florida mom has been charged after her daughter licked a tongue depressor at the dentist’s before putting it back in the unused pile.

Cori Ward, 30, will today be hauled before court for tampering with a consumer product without regard for possible death or bodily injury.

She was arrested after stomach-churning footage of the alleged hygiene breach at Jacksonville’s All About Kids and Families Medical Center went viral. 

The video, shared by Ward herself, shows her daughter reach her hand into the depressor jar, ignoring a sign which reads: ‘Please do not touch medical supplies!’

After grabbing one of the tools, she briefly rubs it over her tongue before sticking it back in the pot with the fresh ones.

Ward posted the clip to Snapchat with the caption: ‘Don’t tell me how to live my life’. 

But after an online backlash, the mom defended herself by implying that the depressors were thrown away.

And she insisted that she had no intention of the video going viral, claiming to have circulated it to a few close friends – one of whom later made it public.

In a Facebook post, she wrote: ‘The video doesn’t show that the items were thrown away or anything else that happened.

‘I posted this on my personal Snapchat with my 20-something friends, where someone allowed another person to video it. 

She was arrested after stomach-churning footage of the alleged hygiene breach at Jacksonville’s All About Kids and Families Medical Center (pictured) went viral

‘I didn’t post it on Facebook or YouTube as a challenge or whatever.’

And prior to being locked up in Duval County jail, she told News4Jax: ‘I was just being silly with my kids. It’s ruined my life right now. That’s how I feel at least.’

A conviction for tampering charges can carry a 30-year custodial sentence and a $10,000 fine.