DETROIT – Help Me Hank is going deep undercover to expose a bizarre business that medical professionals are saying is potentially dangerous.
A woman in Detroit was offering top and bottom braces for just $200 cash. She said she had done the procedure many times before.
“In the short term it seems like something that may give them their desired effect,” Dr. Blake Livingston said. “But in the long term, they’re gonna have complications that are gonna cost them magnitudes of dollars more.”
Blake said when treatment is done by someone with no training, the possibilities of detrimental outcomes are significantly more. He has seen patients with bad braces that have lost teeth.
“It seems easy, it sounds easy, but there’s a reason why orthodontists go to school for dental school and then 3,700 hours of exclusive orthodontic training,” Blake said.
Most professionals are willing to work out payment plans.
“While any licensed dentist can perform orthodontic work, they can only advertise themselves as an orthodontist if they have the specialty certification from LARA. Individuals concerned of any negligent conduct by a health professional or someone posing as a professional should file a complaint with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.”
Suzanne Thelen Communications Director MI Dept of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Local 4 brought this case to state officials and they said an investigation is underway.
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