Fake dentist and his assistant pulled five teeth from woman’s mouth

Last month, Erika Martinez said a man posing as a dentist held her down and yanked five of her teeth out over about an hour or two. “The truth is, it felt like it lasted years,” Martinez said in Spanish while her lips concealed a checkerboard smile. “It was horrible pain. Very traumatic.” Police said Mario Alberto Sabillon-Mejia, 33, masqueraded as a dentist and denture-maker and offered discount oral care in Dallas and Houston. He and his alleged assistant, Tiffany Gonzalez, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with practicing medicine without a license. The pair face prison time, and Martinez “is going to require extensive medical and dental treatment to heal from her injuries,” Dallas police Lt. Tony Crawford said. Crawford said police obtained a ledger that suggests Sabillon-Mejia has at least 50 other patients in the area and operated in Dallas and Houston. He had claimed to be a dentist in Honduras, but is not, Crawford said.

Martinez turned to Sabillon-Mejia because she didn’t have dental insurance. A clinic told her she would have to pay $9,000 to fix her teeth. Instead, she went on a local Facebook group and asked if anyone knew about cheap dental services. A woman told Martinez that Sabillon-Mejia could help her. She called him and he met her at her home in West Oak Cliff. Martinez told police that Sabillon-Mejia and Gonzalez quoted her a price of $1,500. About a week later, the woman gave Gonzalez the first $500 to do the procedure at her house, police said. Crawford said he has never heard of a dentist that didn’t take X-rays. Nor does he know of any dentists who make home visits. “I’ve never heard of one that did,” Crawford said. “I wish mine did.” On May 25, Sabillon-Mejia gave Martinez an anesthetic and started pulling teeth. The pain was excruciating. She bled profusely. They held her down.
Martinez said that she asked the pair to stop the procedure, but they said they had to keep going. At one point, Martinez fainted. The two allegedly cleaned their dental tools in Martinez’s sink and carried them around in an unsanitary bag. Afterward, Martinez said, the pair gave her little advice: “Just not to eat pork, and that was it,” Martinez said. On June 3, Sabillon-Mejia gave the woman a tooth mold and demanded another $500 payment for it. Crawford said Sabillon-Mejia had tools for making dentures. “We think he was just getting his experience by practicing on people that were hiring him,” Crawford said. “He wanted to be a dentist, I’m assuming.” Martinez grew wary and decided to contact police for her own safety and the safety of others. She identified the two from a photo lineup. When she found out they didn’t have licenses, Martinez said she “felt very lucky to be alive.”

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Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia, who is a real dentist, said she has had many patients come to her after seeing unlicensed dentists. “Sadly, it’s always a bad result,” she said. Still, most of them don’t want to report it to police, Garcia said. “They feel ashamed that they’ve been taken advantage of and they feel bad for doing that,” Garcia said. “That doesn’t change the fact that you are risking your life.” Garcia said there is “no excuse” to go to an unlicensed dentist. Most dentists offer payment plans, she said. Crawford said the alleged dentist shouldn’t have been offering services, either. “Any time you practice medicine without a license not knowing what you’re doing, you’re going to cause people irreparable harm,” he said. Sabillon-Mejia is being held in Dallas County jail in lieu of $105,000 bail. He also has an open DWI charge in Dallas County and is living in the country illegally. Gonzalez, whose bail was $3,500, posted bond on Thursday morning. Both also face charges for possession of a dangerous drug. Crawford said he hopes other victims come forward.