Five people accused of providing dental or medical services without licences have been arrested across Bangkok, Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan, with police seizing more than 1,000 items of medical and dental equipment.
The Central Investigation Bureau’s (CIB) Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) carried out searches at five locations yesterday, August 20, with Samut Sakhon public health officials and other agencies.
Four people were arrested over alleged unlicensed dental work, while a fifth was accused of practising medicine without a licence.
Officers seized 56 types of materials, dental tools, medical equipment and unregistered medicines, totalling more than 1,058 items and valued at more than 330,000 baht.
Police said some of the dental services were being offered from converted homes and roadside premises, including dentures, retainers and fashion braces.
In Krathum Baen district, Samut Sakhon, officers found a 30 year old woman allegedly fitting fashion braces to a customer using a mouth retractor and dental etching solution.
The woman reportedly admitted learning the procedures herself through YouTube and practising on her own teeth before advertising services on social media. She told officers she earned more than 15,000 baht a month.
Nearby, police found a 61 year old man who had worked in a dental laboratory around 30 years ago. He allegedly used that experience to take dental impressions and make dentures from his home, accepting work from both locals and healthcare facilities. He reportedly earned between 40,000 and 50,000 baht a month.
A 44 year old woman who previously worked as a dental technician for a private company was also accused of operating from her home, taking dental impressions and making retainers. She reportedly charged almost 10,000 baht per course.
In Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, officers arrested a 56 year old woman while she was allegedly making and repairing dentures for a customer at a roadside dental shop. More than 500 resin dentures and pieces of dental equipment were seized.
The woman said she previously worked in a dental laboratory and had operated the roadside business for more than five years, serving around four to five customers a day.
The fifth arrest took place at a beauty clinic in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan, where officers found a 26 year old woman administering an intravenous vitamin drip to a customer without a doctor supervising the clinic.
The woman holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, but police accused her of practising medicine without a licence. Officers also seized vitamin drip equipment and a quantity of unregistered medicines.
All five were charged with providing medical or dental services without the required licences and were transferred to investigators for legal proceedings. They were transferred to CPPD investigators for further legal proceedings. The four people accused of providing unlicensed dental services admitted the charges, according to police.
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The story YouTube-trained ‘dentist’ among five arrested in medical crackdown near Bangkok as seen on Thaiger News.
