A woman has been fined S$5,000 for providing unauthorised dental services at her Far East Plaza salon and Bukit Merah flat.
37-year-old Ding Zhiyan was fined on Tuesday (14 May) after pleading guilty to two counts of practising dentistry without a license.
The Chinese national had learnt how to fix dental veneers from her former employer.
According to TODAY, the Ministry of Health prosecutor Tan Luoyi revealed to the court on Tuesday that Ding’s former employer at a salon in Bugis had taught her how to fix dental veneers in 2020.
In 2022, she left the salon and started her own business in Far East Plaza, also providing dental veneer services.
Source: Peifeng on Google Maps
Ding purchased the relevant dental-related supplies and equipment worth S$370 from the Chinese shopping platform, Taobao.
Dental veneers are a layer of material applied to the crown or surface of the tooth. It is used for restorative and cosmetic purposes.
According to Channel News Asia, the prosecution shared that Ding would inspect the cleanliness of her customers’ mouths before the veneer fixing procedure.
She would then clean the customers’ teeth and remove existing plaque while they rested on a bed or sofa.
Ding would subsequently apply adhesive gel on their teeth before placing the dental veneers.
Finally, she would apply another protective gel on the customers’ gums before shining a UV light to set the adhesive.
TODAY’s report stated that on 13 May 2022, Ding was informed that three dental veneers that she had installed on a customer in March had come off.
She resolved the issue two days later by fixing the veneers at her salon for S$100.
Months later on 10 December, Ding performed another veneer service on a separate customer, but the veneer dislodged shortly after.
After the complaint, Ding met the customer at her Bukit Merah flat to fix the tooth.
Ms Tan said that Ding did not charge the customer for the 30-minute procedure as it was a “form of service recovery”.
According to TODAY, Ding had pled guilty early on and fully cooperated with authorities during the initial investigation.
The prosecution sought a S$2,500 fine for each guilty charge and noted that Ding did not have any previous encounter with the law prior to this incident.
Ding also pleaded for a lower fine amount as she needed the money for her mother’s cancer treatment.
District Judge Lorraine Ho said there was no actual harm caused to the customers involved in the unauthorised dental services, despite them needing some “touch-ups”.
Ding was subsequently fined S$5,000.
She could have been fined up to S$25,000 for practising dentistry without a practising certificate, and not being a registered dentist.
Also read: Woman performs illegal dental procedures at S’pore hotels after learning online, fined S$2.5K
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Featured image adapted from TODAY and Peifeng on Google Maps.
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