Since December 2012, several incidents of fake dentists
have been doing the rounds on the World Wide Web. While some of these
cases are bizarre, some are downright egregious. Take the instance reported by
TheHuffingtonPost.com in December where 40-year old William Escobar was
arrested by investigators in Moorpark, California, after a month-long
search that revealed how the self proclaimed dentist performed tooth
cleanings and injected his patients with anesthetics – all inside his
apartment’s bathroom!
The Philadelphia Daily News too reported a case of imposter dentists
in December, where two women (one was Cheryl Laing who had a job as a
dental assistant, and another was a receptionist called Jessica
Gullickson) were arrested for running a fraud and performing dental work
after-hours at the clinic of a local dentist.
Yet another shocking case was reported by NBCUniversal, where the
Plano police arrested 63-year old Jose Santiago Delao, who was charged
with practicing dentistry with no valid license.
All these cases bring an important question to the forefront – why do
people run into fake dentists? The answer lies in the tough economy. In
today’s world where healthcare costs are skyrocketing, seeking a professional dentist
has become a costly affair that many can’t afford. Even those who can
often look for cheaper alternatives, thinking about a dozens of things
they can do with the money thus saved. No wonder that self proclaimed
dentists, most of whom aren’t qualified and trained, and don’t have a
license to practice, crop up to take advantage of the situation, luring
patients with the bait of a low cost dental service.
Apart from men and women looking to save a few bucks, school students
and college goers are also easy targets for such imposters. After all,
these teenagers are often looking to save on their pocket money and
won’t mind visiting fake dentists to get the job done, saving precious
dollars in the process. Of course, they aren’t worried about botched
jobs, or injuries, which may make them pay much more in the long run.
After reading this, if you think that everyone goes to a fake dentist
knowing fully well what they are walking into, think again. Most of
these imposters are so good in their homework that you may not often
know their game unless you ask to see their license or cross check it
with the State Board of Dental Examiners. But the sad truth is that
hardly anyone bothers to go to such lengths and verify the credentials.
The job of the fake dentist is made easier if s/he already has some
successful cases to showcase his/her talents. People will naturally walk
into the clinics of such fake dentists who can boast of a few successes
and drum up publicity for the same.
Though it may sound bizarre, there’s another group of people who
simply visit fake dentists to get a legit (they think!) doctor’s
certificate and enjoy a few day’s sick leave from work or
school/college. After all, when you are not ill and can’t think of any
legitimate reason to visit your doctor, the next best thing is to go to a
fake dentist, isn’t it?
But all these shouldn’t make you forget about the dangers you inflict
upon yourself by walking into a fake dentist’s clinic. Though special
offers and discounts, as well as cheap dental services may be too
tempting, you should always check credentials of the dentist before
trusting the person. After all, what if you have to undergo excruciating
pain while the novice hands tug at your broken tooth, or worse still,
administers some medicine to which you are allergic? Surely, it pays to
shell out more and buy peace of mind by trusting a renowned and expert
dentist than saving a few dollars and ending up in a period of perpetual
anxiety, pain, and costly treatments to fix the damage that your ‘fake
dentist’ has done.
