CHICAGO (CBS) — How can you tell if a dentist is fake?
Months after the CBS News Chicago story about the damage caused by a fake dentistThe state of Illinois has announced a public safety campaign to raise awareness.
“Today we are launching an important campaign: Fake Dentist, Real Risk,” said Mario Treto, secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Earlier this year, CBS News Chicago reported on Monica Davis, a suburban woman accused of posing as a dentist. The story focused on patient complaints about crumbling teeth and fake braces.
Davis was arrested several weeks after the CBS News Chicago investigation.
The new Illinois campaign now offers ways to check if a dentist is real, and tips to spot a fake dentist. It’s all being plastered across social media by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Dental Society.
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
“There is no procedure that is safe if it is performed by someone who is not properly trained in oral health,” said Dr. Sherece Thompson of the Illinois State Dental Society.
Monica Bailey learned her lesson too late. CBS News Chicago reported in April how Bailey and her daughter got braces from a Schaumburg company called The Veneer Experts.
Davis appears performing surgery in a TikTok video posted by The Veneer Experts, and she performed surgery on Bailey. But Davis is not a dentist at all.
“I still have those sores, you know, those sores in my mouth,” Bailey said.
It has been months and Bailey still has not removed the braces Davis gave her. She discovered that the braces were useless and did not fit anything after consulting a properly qualified dentist.
Following the CBS News Chicago investigation, Schaumburg police arrested Davis. She has been charged with multiple counts, including aggravated assault, alleging she caused “permanent disfigurement” in another patient.
Apparently, after the CBS News Chicago report, more victims came forward.
“That story helped them realize that they had been duped,” said Eric Larson of the Illinois State Dental Society. “With the Fake Dentist, Real Risk campaign, it’s just that proactiveness and the forward-thinking nature of the secretary to address this issue.”
Bailey was asked how it felt to know that the state had launched a campaign to warn people about what she had experienced with a fake dentist.
“I’m glad they recognize the situation and the seriousness of the situation,” she said.
How big is the problem? CBS News Chicago asked about the number of false dental complaints filed so far this year, but no one could answer.
“We announced in August that we were going to implement a new system that will allow us to track these numbers more effectively,” Treto said.
For the state, the dental association, the victims and the unlicensed dentist, one is too many.
