A Texan woman named Erika Martinez found herself in possession of painful toothaches but no dental insurance to match. Short on cash, she received a reference from a Facebook friend for a man named Mario Sabillon-Mejia, who claimed to be a dentist from Honduras.
During a procedure done in Martinez’s home, Sabillon-Mejia, along with a woman claiming to be his assistant, removed a total of five teeth from her mouth. As Sabillion-Mejia was not actually a dentist, Martinez ended up suffering from a severe infection and filed a report with the Dallas Police Department. Sabillon-Mejia and his “assistant” Tiffany Gonzales were arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license and misdemeanor possession of dangerous drugs.
NBCDFW has the details: Sabillon-Mejia, 33, and Gonzalez, 41, came to Martinez’s home for a consultation on May 18, then returned to perform the $1,500 procedure on May 25. Sabillon-Mejia began by injecting something into Martinez’s gums and removing her tooth. She complained of being in pain but was held down on her couch while her other teeth were removed. The two impostors cleaned their instruments in Martinez’s bathroom. After another “appointment” a week later, Martinez’s teeth became infected.
Lt. Tony Crawford of the DPD believes there may be around 50 people in North Texas who were treated by the fake dental team, and even more in Houston.
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Image via Universal/Dr. Giggles
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