Waukesha woman investigated for performing dental work without license

WAUKESHA (WITI) -- Two 12-year-old boys say they experienced pain, bleeding and swelling after getting braces from a woman on a couch in her Waukesha home. Now, that woman is under investigation.

A search warrant filed Friday, August 30th for a house on South Grand Avenue reveals police are investigating a woman for practicing dentistry without a license.

One boy's mother told police she paid $1,000 for the boy's braces, which were "too close to the gums, and where  not placed on all the required teeth, causing gingivitis."

Dental experts say the price the boys' mothers say they were offered was too good to be true, and the services rendered were possibly harmful.

"Having someone unlicensed perform dental work on you can be very dangerous. In this case, you're putting small brackets on teeth -- something could pop off, somebody could swallow it, someone could choke on it," Paul Levine with the Wisconsin Dental Association said.

A search warrant says on August 22nd, an undercover officer went to the home on S. Grand Avenue, under the guise of getting braces for his 11-year-old daughter. There, he saw orthodontic tools, elastic bands and bonding agents.

According to the search warrant, the woman told the officer she would charge $350 to put on the braces, and $50 for visits each month.

The search warrant says the woman told the officer "it would come out to around $900, which was a good price compared to the $5,000 a dentist would charge."

The Wisconsin Dental Association says it is not uncommon for people to seek an unlicensed dentist, but that it usually happens in other countries.

"Finding a dentist on the street and people get that idea and think they can do it here and you really can't do it," Levine said.

FOX6 News spoke with the mother of one of the 12-year-old boys on Tuesday, September 3rd. She did not want to speak on camera, but said the boy's braces have been removed, and he is now seeing a licensed orthodontist.

FOX6 News is not naming the Waukesha woman, because she has not been charged in the case. However, she does have a history of fraud convictions.