Czech police nab fake dentist with dozens of patients

PRAGUE: A fake dentist and two assistants who treated dozens of patients after learning the trade on the internet have been charged in the Czech Republic, police said on Wednesday.

The three family members opened a fully equipped dentist´s without a licence or the necessary expertise in the central Czech town of Havlickuv Brod in 2023, police said.

A 22-year-old man posing as a dentist provided check-ups but also extracted teeth, gave root canal treatments and applied anaesthesia, drawing on information obtained online.

A 50-year-old woman worked as a nurse, while a 44-year-old man providing the premises produced prosthetic devices for patients.

“The woman, who worked in the health sector, provided anaesthetics but also other dental material to which she had access, such as fillings, cleaning powder, glue, impression material and much more,” police said in a statement. Asked by AFP if some of the patients complained, local police spokeswoman Michaela Lebrova declined to comment. The illegal clinic treated dozens of patients and raked in a total of four million Czech koruna ($185,500), police said.

Police detained the trio earlier this month and charged them with doing illegal business, money laundering, attempted battery, drug dealing and theft. All three had a clean criminal record. They have been provisionally released after pleading guilty, and face up to eight years in prison, police said.

Facing a shortage of dentists, the Czech parliament last year passed a bill facilitating the employment of dentists from countries outside the European Union, of which the Czech Republic is a member.