Five people have been arrested in Thailand for allegedly providing medical and dental services without the required licences, following police raids at five locations across Bangkok, Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan.
The Central Investigation Bureau’s Consumer Protection Police Division, together with Samut Sakhon public health officials and other agencies, conducted the operations on August 20. Four suspects were accused of carrying out dental procedures without licences, while another was allegedly practising medicine illegally.
Authorities seized more than 1,058 items during the raids, including 56 types of dental materials, medical equipment, dental tools and unregistered medicines. The confiscated items were estimated to be worth more than 330,000 baht.
Some of the alleged dental services were reportedly being offered from converted homes and roadside premises, with services including dentures, retainers and fashion braces. In Krathum Baen district, Samut Sakhon, officers allegedly caught a 30-year-old woman fitting fashion braces on a customer using dental equipment.
The woman reportedly told police that she had taught herself the procedure by watching YouTube videos and initially practised on her own teeth. She later advertised her services on social media and was said to have earned more than 15,000 baht a month.
Elsewhere in Samut Sakhon, a 61-year-old man was allegedly making dentures from his home. Police said he had previously worked at a dental laboratory around 30 years ago and was using his experience to take dental impressions and produce dentures for customers and healthcare facilities. His reported monthly income was between 40,000 and 50,000 baht.
A 44-year-old former dental technician was also accused of operating from her home, where she allegedly took dental impressions and produced retainers. Police said she charged almost 10,000 baht per course.
In Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, officers arrested a 56-year-old woman at a roadside dental shop while she was allegedly making and repairing dentures. More than 500 resin dentures and pieces of dental equipment were seized. She reportedly said she had previously worked in a dental laboratory and had operated the business for more than five years, serving around four to five customers daily.
The fifth suspect, a 26-year-old woman, was arrested at a beauty clinic in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. Police alleged that she was administering an intravenous vitamin drip to a customer without supervision from a doctor. Although she holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, authorities accused her of practising medicine without the required licence.
Police also seized vitamin drip equipment and unregistered medicines from the clinic. All five suspects were charged with providing medical or dental services without the necessary licences and handed over to investigators for further legal proceedings.
According to police, the four suspects accused of providing unlicensed dental services admitted the charges.
