A Plano man is behind bars, charged in connection to practicing dentistry without a license.
Plano police served an arrest and search warrant at the home and makeshift dentist's office on the 1900 block of East Park Boulevard Thursday morning.
Officers arrested Jose Santiago Delao, 63, and confiscated all of his equipment that he used in his business, according to police.
"We were given information that this is apparently starting to become a problem," said David Tilley, Plano police spokesperson. "Probably not just in this field, but in other fields as well."
Tilley told NBC 5 a patient of Delao's had come to them to report concerns about work Delao had done on them, and that they were concerned about the legality of his practice.
Plano police worked with the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, the state licensing agency for dentists, to confirm that Delao does not have a license to practice dentistry within the state.
Investigators are currently working to find out if Delao has legitimate dental experience in any other state or country.
A car was parked in Delao's driveway Thursday night, hours after his arrest.
A woman inside the car said she was dropping off her mother for an appointment to have a tooth pulled, unaware Delao was behind bars and his business had been shut down.
She told NBC 5 her mother and other relatives had been seeing Delao for at least four years. She said her mother does not have dental insurance and always pays in cash.
The woman pulled from her wallet a business card for Delao that appears to have been professionally made. The business card lists the procedures he performs and the services he provides, including "dental lab tech, orthodontic adults - children, cranio-facial (TMJ) and orthognathic surgery appliances" as well as "full and partial dentures," "relines," "flippers, etc," and "emergencies same day."
Investigators now want to speak with other patients of Delao's to determine the scope of his practice and to determine if anyone has been harmed while under his care.
