A 70-year-old woman in Long Island was doing a lot more than cooking in her kitchen, and it might land her in prison.
Gladys Serrano, 70, was arrested for allegedly operating an unlicensed dentistry clinic from her one-bedroom apartment, according to ABC 7.
The Nassau County District Attorney has spoken to at least one person who visited the clinic, and is looking for others who patronized the make-shift dental office to come forward.
Serrano was arraigned and released from police custody on Tuesday, but has been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device while she awaits her trial.
The individual who spoke with the Nassau County District Attorney's Office said they were referred to Serrano for a tooth extraction. However, Serrano allegedly removed five of their teeth. The individual was given paper towels to sop up the blood and was instructed to wash their mouth with salt water, according to the district attorney's office.
She was charged $2,000 for the procedure.
Once law enforcement became aware of the clinic, they executed a search warrant at the property and found a dental chair in Serrano's kitchen. Several of her drawers were allegedly filled with dental instruments like impression molds, extraction tools, tartar scrapers, and a large container with expired vials of medicine from Columbia and El Salvador, as well as used dental needles.
They also found Amoxicillin capsules, Relaflex, and Lidocaine at the apartment.
"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," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly told ABC7.
Serrano has been charged with a single count of unauthorized practice of a profession.
"{It is] so unsanitary and so frightening for people who might have gone there," Donnelly added.
While one resident in Serrano's building told ABC7 that she should be “locked up”, others were more sympathetic to her practice.
"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," neighbor Myriam Kai told the broadcaster.
She said that Serrano provided a service for people who might have been afraid to go to a hospital or who could not afford dental work.
"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 insisted that individuals who may be in the country illegally or who cannot afford dental work have options that don't include visiting an unlicensed practitioner.
"There are options out there. Nassau University Medical Center offers community dentistry, Stony Brook University, NYU," she said.
Serrano has pleaded not guilty, and was forced to turn over her passport. Her first court date is scheduled for January 8, 2025. If she's convicted, she faces a potential prison sentence of up to four years.
