Dental Technician Charged With Illegal Practice

A dental technician has been charged with practicing dentistry without a license, Huntington Park police said Friday.

Daniel Villareal, 33, was charged with a misdemeanor after he treated a 25-year-old pregnant woman for a toothache, police said. He was issued a citation and is scheduled to appear in court on June 24.

The victim went to Century Smile Dental on Pacific Boulevard last week, where Villareal, who is an X-ray technician, indicated that he was a dentist and offered to treat her, police said. The clinic’s regular dentist was out of town, Sgt. William Diers said.

Villareal injected the woman with a local anesthesia and extracted the tooth with forceps, Diers said. Over the next few days, the woman’s face became swollen and she suffered “intense pain from the procedure,” Diers said.

The woman returned to the office, discovered that Villareal was not qualified to treat her, and notified authorities, police said.

A licensed dentist later examined the woman and determined that Villareal left her with a bone exposed, a torn gum and an open wound that had not been closed, authorities said.