MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Hempstead woman has been charged with illegally practicing dentistry out of her one-bedroom apartment, where she allegedly performed tooth extractions and other procedures without a license, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced Tuesday.
Gladys Serrano, 70, was arraigned on one count of unauthorized practice of a profession, a felony. She pleaded not guilty and was released to pre-trial services with electronic monitoring. Judge Charles G. McQuair ordered Serrano to surrender her passport and restricted her from leaving New York State. She is scheduled to appear in court on January 8, 2025.
Prosecutors allege that Serrano extracted five teeth from a victim on July 26, 2024, after a brief visual examination in her makeshift office, located in the kitchen of her apartment on Greenwich Street in Hempstead. A curtain divided the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and the “office” was equipped with a patient chair near a sink, drawers of used dental instruments, and medication vials.
Serrano allegedly charged the victim $1,950 over multiple visits but failed to provide a functional dental bridge as promised. The victim returned several times between August and December 2024 in an attempt to resolve the issue, but the bridge never fit.
A search warrant executed at Serrano’s residence uncovered numerous dental tools, impression molds, tartar scrapers, used dental needles, and boxes of medications, including Lidocaine and Amoxicillin. State records show Serrano is not licensed to practice dentistry in New York.
“Practicing dentistry without proper authorization poses an incredibly serious risk to public health and safety,” said DA Donnelly. She urged anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Serrano to contact the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Counsel Jennifer Contreras of the Major Financial Frauds Bureau. Serrano faces up to four years in prison if convicted.