Dodgy dentists charged over low-cost dental braces

The Children and Women Protection Sub-Division of the police on Saturday confiscated dental braces and improper equipment from two Bangkok shops alleged to having provided illegal dental brace placement services, said sub-division superintendent Pol Colonel Jirakrit Jaruyapat.

The simultaneous raid of “Ploy” and “Pink” shops at the Sai Tai Mai Centre Market in Taling Chan district on Saturday night also led to the arrest of two shop owners – 37 year old Suthan (last name withheld) and 24 year old Pornthira (last name withheld) Jirakrit told the press conference at 11pm following the bust.

Both suspects admitted to having provided the service for two months and without proper knowledge of, nor a degree in, dentistry, police said.

Dentist Nita Wiwattanatheepa, a member of the Thai Dental Council’s sub-committee for consumer protection, told the press that the group had received a tip-off that teenagers had obtained fake dental braces from unlicenced amateurs at markets such as these shops, and had alerted police to act.

The people who had installed dental braces on customers in exchange for low fees were not dentists and could have caused injury during the procedure, she said. Improper installation could result in infection or blood-transmitted diseases due to the use of improper or unsterilised equipment, she said.

Although the braces were real, the equipment used was substandard and could contain the toxic metal lead, she said.

The alleged offences were: violating the Dental Profession Act 1994, punishable by a maximum three-year jail term or a maximum 30,000 baht fine, or both; violating the Health Facility Act 1998, punishable by a maximum five-year jail term or a maximum 100,000 baht fine, or both; and violating the Consumer Protection Board’s order 1/2561 banning the selling of fake fashion dental braces punishable by a maximum five-year jail term,or a maximum 500,000 baht fine, or both.

STORY: The Nation