Hundreds of Americans are turning to veneer technicians to get the smile of their dreams, only to be left with rotten teeth and a huge dental bill.
For veneers, dentists must clean and file the teeth before gluing pearl-white coverings to the front, at a cost of up to $4,000 per tooth, or $40,000 per smile.
The high price makes them unaffordable for most.
But now a group of “technicians” have emerged offering to fit 20 veneers for just $1,500, often working in the back of hair salons and with nothing more than a certificate and three days of training to their name.
The result? Many patients have seen their veneers fall off within a few days, while others have suffered swelling in their mouth and are at risk of bacteria getting trapped behind the covering, which can cause teeth to rot.
Shown above are two patients who had problems with veneers. One person’s teeth rotted after receiving veneers, while another had a veneer come off shortly before graduating. It was unclear whether either of them had visited an illegal veneer technician.
‘Veneer technicians’ have appeared in the United States offering to fit veneers for a fraction of the cost of a dentist. They include the above ones called theluckysevennn online.
It is illegal for anyone without a license from their state to operate in dentistry, including placing veneers.
A license can only be obtained after attending dental school, which takes at least four years, and then passing numerous exams to earn a degree.
But veneer technicians are operating on people’s mouths with nothing more than a certificate after attending schools in Atlanta, Georgia, often for just a week. The schools include the Dental Veneer Academy run by Colombian businessman Mauricio Soto.
Among the so-called veneer technicians is an individual who calls himself theluckysevennn and who boasts online of having received a certificate after being trained by ‘Seven Figure Smiles’.
A second, named Tyreka Taylor, also known as Princess Kutz, who works in a hair salon, became certified after just a week and a half of training before embarking on a “tour” of the United States, visiting cities such as Austin and Biloxi, in Mississippi.
Dr. Huzefa Kapadia, a Michigan dentist who has made many videos warning people to avoid veneer technicians, said online: ‘These are composite veneers, the production of which is extremely delicate. Look at this precision!
“Only a certified dentist can do something like this, believe it or not.”
He added: ‘I know you guys love going to the illegal siding technicians that are popping up all over America and in everyone’s basements. But that’s illegal, you’re not supposed to see an illegal body repairman.
Among those who visited an illegal veneer technician was 36-year-old Tyrisha Ragin of Texas.
Mrs. Ragin said The cut had to pay $1,500 through a cash app to get 20 Princess Kutz veneers, well below the $80,000 cost from a dentist.
He wore them for two days before one fell off, and a dentist quickly had to remove the rest, costing him another $1,300.
These women also posted online saying that their veneers had fallen off unexpectedly.
In another case, shown here, the teeth also began to rot under the veneers, likely leading to further complications. It was unclear whether the patients mentioned above had used veneer technicians.
Princess Kutz later returned the money, but Ragin’s dentist said she had been lucky to escape, saying the veneers could have caused permanent damage to her teeth if something had gotten trapped under them.
Several people have also posted online complaining of rotten teeth after receiving veneers, where bacteria have eaten away at the enamel beneath the pearly white surface.
In one case, a patient also posted an image saying his teeth had rotted to pieces after spending $50,000 on veneers over the years.
In another case, a woman revealed that a veneer technician, called the ‘Veneer Fairy’, left her with a swollen and sore mouth after inserting the veneers.
Online, many veneer technicians now have comments on their posts warning that it is not legal for them to offer veneers.
On theluckysevennn’s main post, one user commented: ‘Can we see the degree and what school you graduated from since you’re obviously a dentist right?’
And a second said: ‘The fact that you still have this and are about to go to prison is crazy.’
And in the case of Princess Kutz, several videos have appeared on the Internet saying that she should also “go to jail” for offering the treatments.
Veneers have become more popular in recent years, amid a drive to achieve a pearly white smile: almost 600,000 people get them each year.
This is partly because celebrities have gotten them or are rumored to have gotten them, including Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Taylor Swift.
The coatings are usually porcelain or resin and, according to some sources, can last between 10 and 15 years.
Another procedure that has become more popular is crowns, in which the teeth are filed down before a new tooth is placed on top.
This has become more popular in places like Türkiye.