Long Island woman charged with allegedly practicing unlicensed dentistry out of apartment kitchen

By Web Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW YORK, New York (WABC) — Nassau County District Attorney is looking for more victims after a woman from Long Island was charged for allegedly practicing unlicensed dentistry from her one-bedroom apartment.

The DA said there’s one victim they know of so far, but are looking for more.

Gladys Serrano, 70, was arraigned and released Tuesday but must wear an electronic monitoring device, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

Authorities said the 70-year-old ran the unlicensed dentistry out of her Hempstead apartment kitchen.

When officers executed a search warrant, they found a curtain hanging in the kitchen and a patient chair positioned near a sink, with drawers full of dental instruments that appeared to be used, impression molds, extraction tools, tartar scrapers, and a large container containing what appeared to be numerous expired empty vials of medication registered in Colombia and El Salvador and used dental needles.

Boxes labeled as single-use dental needles, Amoxicillin capsules, Relaflex, and Lidocaine were also recovered.

“It’s a dangerous, dangerous street she was walking down. You infect somebody with using one of these tools in their mouth and you could kill them.,” Donnelly said.

Donnelly said Serrano was charged with one count of unauthorized practice of a profession after allegedly charging a woman nearly $2,000 in July after extracting five teeth from her mouth inside the apartment.

“So unsanitary and so frightening for people who might have gone there,” Donnelly said.

Court documents allege she conducted dental procedures, including extractions.

Court documents also allege Serrano extracted five teeth from a victim who she told needed to be extracted because they were rotting.

Serrano allegedly extracted the teeth, gave the victim pieces of paper towel to absorb the large amount of blood coming from the area, and told her to rinse with salt water.

The victim was instructed to return to see Serrano several times after the extractions, including being told she needed a bridge, court documents said.

A search of New York State records conducted failed to disclose any individuals licensed to practice dentistry in the State of New York with the name of Gladys Serrano.

Eyewitness News went to Serrano’s apartment building to knock on her door, but no one answered and the door was padlocked.

Joseph Doruado lives on the same floor.

“Lock her up and throw away the key,” Doruado said.

Other neighbors came to her defense.

“She’s a very nice lady. I don’t know why they’re making this a big deal. She has a degree in El Salvador. She’s a great dentist,” Myriam Kai said.

Kai, who says she is a teacher, has lived in the building since 1978 and says she and Serrano are both from El Salvador.

“Most of the Latino people, they are afraid to go into the hospital because they don’t have a paper or because it’s more expensive. But I know how difficult it is for the people who don’t have insurance to get the help they really need,” Kai said.

Donnelly said there are affordable legal avenues with no citizenship questions asked.

“There are options out there. Nassau University Medical Center offers community dentistry, Stony Brook University, NYU,” Donnelly said.

Serrano pleaded not guilty. She had to turn in her passport.

Serrano is due back in court on January 8, 2025. If convicted, the defendant faces up to four years in prison.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.