A woman in New York has been accused of running an unlicensed dental practice from her one-bedroom apartment, which resulted in one patient losing $2,000 after she performed a botched procedure while extracting five teeth.
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Gladys Serrano, 70, was charged with the unauthorized practice of a profession after authorities obtained a search warrant and discovered alarming evidence in her kitchen. They found a patient chair, extraction tools, impression molds, tartar scrapers, and other dental instruments, along with empty medication vials. A curtain separated the makeshift “dental office” from the rest of the apartment.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly described the setup as “dangerously unsanitary.” She warned of the potentially fatal risks posed by unsterilized tools. “You infect somebody using one of these tools in their mouth, and you could kill them,” she explained to ABC 7. The investigation began after a patient reported Dr. Serrano, claiming that she initially visited for a single tooth extraction but ended up having five teeth pulled instead.
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Court documents revealed that Serrano did not hold a dental license in New York or any other state. Although a diploma dated 1986 from a dental school was discovered in her apartment, its authenticity has not been verified. Investigators noted that her clientele primarily consisted of uninsured or low-income individuals.
Serrano has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court on January 8. If convicted, she faces up to four years in prison.
