BANGKOK, Thailand — Thai authorities have arrested five people accused of illegally providing dental and medical services during a major operation targeting unlicensed practitioners in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, August 20. The Central Investigation Bureau’s Consumer Protection Police Division, working with the Samut Sakhon Provincial Public Health Office, searched five locations in Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon, arresting four people accused of practicing dentistry without a license and one person accused of practicing medicine without authorization.
Authorities seized 56 categories of medical and dental materials, medicines not registered with authorities and dental equipment, totaling more than 1,058 items with an estimated value of over 330,000 baht.
The investigation began after authorities received complaints and information alleging that people were posing as dental professionals and operating illegally from homes and roadside locations. Investigators reportedly found that some suspects were offering dentures, retainers and so-called fashion braces without authorization.
At one location in Krathum Baen district, Samut Sakhon, officers reportedly found a 30-year-old woman with only a Grade 9 education fitting a mouth-opening device and applying dental chemicals to a customer for fashion braces.
She allegedly told investigators that she had taught herself through YouTube videos and practiced on her own teeth before beginning to accept customers through social media. She reportedly earned more than 15,000 baht a month.
Nearby, officers found a 61-year-old man who had completed Grade 3 and had previously worked at a dental laboratory about 30 years ago. He allegedly used his experience to make dental impressions and dentures from his home for members of the public and even medical facilities, reportedly earning 40,000–50,000 baht per month.
A 44-year-old woman, a former dental technician at a private company, was also accused of secretly operating from her home and making dental impressions and retainers, charging almost 10,000 baht per course.
In Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, a 56-year-old woman with a Grade 6 education was reportedly caught making and repairing dentures for customers at a roadside shop called “Uthai Dental Technique” near Victory Monument.
Police seized more than 500 resin dentures and dental-making tools. The woman allegedly said she had previously worked in a dental laboratory and had operated the roadside business for more than five years, serving about four to five customers a day.
In Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan, authorities searched a beauty clinic and allegedly found a 26-year-old woman with a bachelor’s degree in nursing administering an intravenous vitamin drip to a customer without a doctor present to supervise the procedure.
Authorities seized vitamin-drip equipment and a quantity of unregistered medicines.
All five suspects were charged under Thailand’s laws governing dental and medical professions and healthcare facilities for practicing without authorization and operating healthcare facilities without the required permits.
The suspects were handed over to investigators at Consumer Protection Police Division Sub-Division 4 for further legal proceedings. The four suspects accused of illegally practicing dentistry reportedly confessed to the charges.
