Ten people in northern New Jersey have been arrested in the past year for allegedly practicing dentistry without a license, and several of them are in Union City and West New York.
The arrests were part of a crackdown by the state Attorney General Anne Milgram, the state Division of Consumer Affairs, and local police.
“Our Enforcement Bureau investigators are teaming up with local police departments to shut these so-called ‘dentists’ down,” said Milgram. “The public’s health, safety and welfare are clearly being put at risk when unlicensed individuals attempt to practice dentistry.”
Ten allegedly phony dentists were arrested in a span of 12 months in the North Jersey.
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Some patients treated by the unlicensed dentists went unconscious after receiving anesthesia injections, officials said.
Those arrested in the last year for allegedly practicing dentistry without a license, according to the state Division of Consumer Affairs include:
Ramon Quevedo was arrested by the Union City Police Department on March 26, 2009 for allegedly practicing dentistry without a license. The Reporter found Ramon Quevedo working at Willys Dental Lab Corp located at 2300 Bergenline Ave. last week. When asked for comment, he responded in Spanish that he was a dual degreed medical doctor and dentist but did not want to say from which country. Quevedo then added that he had been arrested and had nothing more to say.
Luis Ponce was arrested by the West New York Police Department on Nov. 7, 2008 for practicing dentistry without a license, and also charged with alleged possession of prescription drugs.
Luis Eduardo Gallo was arrested on the unlicensed dentistry charge by the Union City Police Department on July 17, 2008. He was indicted on Sept. 23, 2008 by a grand jury. Gallo was working in the office of a licensed dentist, Vinod S. Brahmbhatt, so Dr. Brahmbhatt faces disciplinary action by the NJ Board of Dentistry. However, as of last week, the NJ Board of Dentistry listed Dr. Brahmbhatt’s license as active and he continues to use his offices located at 1311 Summit Ave. in Union City. He did not return the Reporter’s message.
Marly Vasquez was arrested by the Jersey City Police Department on July 8, 2009. A second person, Francisco R. Macias, was charged with conspiracy to practice unlicensed dentistry and possession of a prescription drug;
Alvaro Velez-Naranjo was arrested by the North Bergen Police Department on Nov. 6, 2008 and was also charged with three counts of possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (prescription drug) and possession of hypodermic syringes.
Why here?
Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said that although his office did not handle these cases, his office has handled similar cases in the past. “Everyone has to be assured that their medical professionals are licensed by the state of New Jersey,” said DeFazio, “and our immigrant population is especially at risk of being taken advantage of by charlatans or by pretenders.”
Weehawken Director of Public Safety Jeff Welz said, “A lot of immigrants don’t have health insurance and even if someone has health insurance, they may not have dental coverage.” He said that immigrants may find the cheaper prices of an unlicensed dentist appealing.
Wellz also noted that some of the dentists may have been dentists in their own county but were not licensed in the United States.
West New York Director of Police, Oscar Fernandez said that incidents like these happen in areas where the economics comes into play. “These are not people going for veneers, these are people going for a cavity but they may not realize the risk of infection and how they’re taking their own lives in their hands,” said Fernandez.
Catching them in the act
“Information will come in to us where someone suspects, based on activity, that there may be unlicensed practice of dentistry occurring,” said Division of Consumer Affairs spokesperson Jeff Lamm last week. “We have investigators assigned to our Enforcement Bureau that can follow up on those types of calls.”
Lamm added that some investigators go out into the field pretending to be real patients and catch the phony dentists in the act before arresting them.
“We actually have them in the chair ready for treatment,” he said. “As the person gets ready to perform dental work, then the arrest is made with the local police department.”
Finding the right one
Finding out if a dentist is licensed and in good standing can be easily done with the help of the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs, which has set up a website and phone number where consumers can check if a dentist is in compliance and if they have had any disciplinary actions taken against them in the past.
Consumers can visit the Board of Dentistry website at: http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/consumeraffairs/search/search.pl, to find the information.
For the most recent status of a dentist’s license, consumers can call the Division of Consumer Affair’s license verification line at: (973) 273-8090.
“It’s just a matter of minutes for them to give that information,” said Hudson County Director of Consumer Affairs Tyrone Chess.
For those on a limited income, there are agencies that can provide low cost dental services such as the Hudson Community Action Corporation (HCAC), which recently expanded their dental services due to a grant received from the federal government. To contact the HCAC, call: (201) 210-0200.
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at mrappaport@hudsonreporter.com