A man who identifies as "Atlanta's top veneer specialist" isn't a licensed dentist and has been illegally performing veneer procedures for years, according to the Fulton County District Attorney.
On Thursday (October 3), district attorney investigators and Atlanta police raided Brandon Dillard's "A List Smiles Atlanta" dentistry offices, per WSB.
“Brandon Dillard is not a dentist. He’s never been a dentist. And as much as he may want to play one on Instagram, he is not one,” Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten said in a statement.
Since opening in 2021, Dillard's company has garnered 157,000 followers on Instagram. The "A List Smiles" social media page shows off satisfied patients' new smiles and promotes deals for $5,500 veneer procedures.
However, criminal arrest warrants state Dillard isn't a licensed dentist and has been illegally performing the procedures.
“If you went to this and you thought it was a dental office and you looked at the equipment, it appears to be legitimate. But that’s what the best fraudsters do, is they do everything they can to make themselves look legitimate. And in this case, this is an illegitimate operation. The problem is the consequences are to one’s health,” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a statement.
Dillard is facing felony charges including dentistry without a license, practicing medicine without a license, and theft by deception.
“It does look reputable. It does look professional. And that’s part of the scam,” Wooten said.
Dillard is also accused of holding $6,000 training sessions for people to become a "Veneer Specialist."
“Many, many people paid this defendant to receive training on how to do this illegal conduct. I am not interested in prosecuting those persons. I am interested in them stopping this work and finding out who they are because they are also victims,” Willis said.
Willis noted that if the "veneer specialists" continued to perform the procedures without a license, they will face criminal charges too.
“They were enticing people to come in to take these classes so that you could get rich too. But you were getting rich doing something that’s completely illegal,” the DA said.
Improperly installing veneers can result in infection and other medical issues.
“We have had dentists not just locally, but from outside of the state, also come and report that they were concerned about their patients who had received services at this location and the long-term effects of damages,” Willis said.
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