A 70-year-old woman doing dentist’s work in the cluttered kitchen of her one-bedroom apartment in Hempstead — extracting teeth and possibly performing other complex dental procedures — was arrested and charged with practicing dentistry without a license, authorities said.
Gladys Serrano pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to unauthorized practice of a profession, a felony. She was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device, surrender her passport, and is restricted from traveling outside of the state.
Serrano’s makeshift setup included a patient chair positioned near an auxiliary sink; drawers containing used dental instruments, impression molds, extraction tools and tartar scrapers; and a container filled with empty medication vials and used needles, said Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, who believes Serrano was practicing among Spanish-speaking communities in Hempstead.
Contributing to the chaos of the cramped exam room quarters in the kitchen were a large box of flushable wipes, a can of Lysol, a living room lamp, dirty dishes on the sink counter and missing cushioning on one of the armrests of the patient’s chair.
What essentially broke the case was the account of one of Serrano’s clients, who told authorities that she had five teeth pulled by the defendant during a July appointment inside the Greenwich Street apartment, the prosecutor said.
Through a referral, the victim had scheduled to have a single tooth extracted in Serrano’s kitchen office, where a hanging curtain divided the small area, authorities said. Instead, Serrano removed four additional teeth, reasoning to the victim that the extreme measure was necessitated by significant mouth decay, Donnelly said.
‘Risk to public health’
Further, Serrano allegedly recommended a dental bridge, provided pieces of paper towel to absorb the bleeding that followed the removal of the victim’s teeth, and advised the victim to rinse with salt water.
“Practicing dentistry without proper authorization poses an incredibly serious risk to public health and safety,” said Donnelly, noting that boxes labeled as single-use dental needles were found in Serrano’s kitchen, as well as Amoxicillin capsules, Relaflex and lidocaine. “This defendant’s alleged home operation endangered the well-being of at least one person in need of dental care.”
DA: Victim paid $1,950 for dental work
The victim returned to Serrano’s kitchen multiple times between Aug. 16 and Dec. 4, seeking a dental bridge, Donnelly said, and despite taking molds and filing down impressions, Serrano never provided a bridge that fit. Meanwhile, the victim forked over $1,950 to Serrano for dental services.
Donnelly urged that people who believe they may have been victimized by Serrano to contact the district attorney’s Office of Immigrant Affairs at 516.571.7756.
“This conduct was brought to our attention after the victim contacted the NCDA’s Office of Immigrant Affairs,” a spokesman for the district attorney told Greater Long Island on Wednesday. “We continue to investigate, and are working to determine if there are other victims.
“We believe Serrano was practicing among Spanish-speaking communities in Hempstead. Anyone who may have been victimized by the defendant is encouraged to come forward to report the conduct.”
Up to four years in prison, if convicted
Facing up to four years in prison, Serrano is due back in court on Jan. 8.
Photos: Courtesy of the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.
