sanantoniosooner
4/25/2007, 03:19 PM
Making this country safe (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pdentist25apr25,0,2109050.story?coll=sfla-news-palm)
Palm Beach County man arrested for making false teeth without a license
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 25 2007
Ask his neighbors and they'll tell you Roger Bean was the Robin Hood of dentures.
He did fittings and made false teeth for older people who couldn't afford a dentist, and didn't charge them, accepting only donations.
But ask sheriff's deputies who arrested Bean on Tuesday, and they'll tell you he was practicing dentistry without a state license, which is a felony. He did have a certificate from Texas for denturistry, though it is unclear whether it was authentic. But even that doesn't matter, because the practice does not exist in Florida, Detective Don Zumpano said.
"There is, of course, health risks with operating this type of facility outside of your house," he said.
Bean operated from the garage attached to his corrugated metal mobile home on Sunnyside Drive near Southern Boulevard and Haverhill Road, west of West Palm Beach, investigators said. He allegedly made acrylic dentures.
Denturistry was created to eliminate the dentist -- and a significant amount of the price -- from the denture business, investigators said. In Florida, denture work must be done by a dentist.
Zumpano said Bean's operation room was "filthy." Even so, people were driving up for service on Tuesday.
Marc Winchester arrived with a missing front tooth. But detectives got there before him. Winchester said Bean, 60, had done denture work for him in the past, and he was showing up again after falling on Monday night.
"I'm surprised," Winchester said. "He didn't seem like the type that would get arrested."
Detectives got an anonymous tip and worked undercover with the state Department of Health until a money exchange was agreed upon, Zumpano said. An investigator was about to get work done when the search warrant was served. A neighbor screamed out a warning to Bean.
She will be served with a notice to appear in court for obstructing justice, police said. Others yelled at police searching the residence. "You should be ashamed of yourselves," one said.
"He's the best neighbor we've got," said Linda Armantrout, 44.
Bean charged about $200 for a full set of dentures, which usually cost upwards of $2,000, investigators said. Bean, who according to state records has been convicted of drug charges, has been making dentures for at least five years and knew it was illegal, investigators said.
"Who can afford it?" Armantrout asked.
In Florida, licensed dentists do denture fittings, said Dr. Phil Bilger, dental director of the Palm Beach County Health Department. "Denturists are not licensed in this state, so they're not held to any standard of care," Bilger said. "There's a whole issue of infection control."
Ron St. Mary, 73, head of the neighborhood crime watch, said in his eyes, Bean was not a criminal. "He's helping the old people who don't have a few dollars," he said. "I think the world of him."
Zumpano said clients who had work done are not facing legal charges.
Anyone who has had work done by Bean should call the Health Department at954-893-5175 or Zumpano at 561-688-4036.
Palm Beach County man arrested for making false teeth without a license
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 25 2007
Ask his neighbors and they'll tell you Roger Bean was the Robin Hood of dentures.
He did fittings and made false teeth for older people who couldn't afford a dentist, and didn't charge them, accepting only donations.
But ask sheriff's deputies who arrested Bean on Tuesday, and they'll tell you he was practicing dentistry without a state license, which is a felony. He did have a certificate from Texas for denturistry, though it is unclear whether it was authentic. But even that doesn't matter, because the practice does not exist in Florida, Detective Don Zumpano said.
"There is, of course, health risks with operating this type of facility outside of your house," he said.
Bean operated from the garage attached to his corrugated metal mobile home on Sunnyside Drive near Southern Boulevard and Haverhill Road, west of West Palm Beach, investigators said. He allegedly made acrylic dentures.
Denturistry was created to eliminate the dentist -- and a significant amount of the price -- from the denture business, investigators said. In Florida, denture work must be done by a dentist.
Zumpano said Bean's operation room was "filthy." Even so, people were driving up for service on Tuesday.
Marc Winchester arrived with a missing front tooth. But detectives got there before him. Winchester said Bean, 60, had done denture work for him in the past, and he was showing up again after falling on Monday night.
"I'm surprised," Winchester said. "He didn't seem like the type that would get arrested."
Detectives got an anonymous tip and worked undercover with the state Department of Health until a money exchange was agreed upon, Zumpano said. An investigator was about to get work done when the search warrant was served. A neighbor screamed out a warning to Bean.
She will be served with a notice to appear in court for obstructing justice, police said. Others yelled at police searching the residence. "You should be ashamed of yourselves," one said.
"He's the best neighbor we've got," said Linda Armantrout, 44.
Bean charged about $200 for a full set of dentures, which usually cost upwards of $2,000, investigators said. Bean, who according to state records has been convicted of drug charges, has been making dentures for at least five years and knew it was illegal, investigators said.
"Who can afford it?" Armantrout asked.
In Florida, licensed dentists do denture fittings, said Dr. Phil Bilger, dental director of the Palm Beach County Health Department. "Denturists are not licensed in this state, so they're not held to any standard of care," Bilger said. "There's a whole issue of infection control."
Ron St. Mary, 73, head of the neighborhood crime watch, said in his eyes, Bean was not a criminal. "He's helping the old people who don't have a few dollars," he said. "I think the world of him."
Zumpano said clients who had work done are not facing legal charges.
Anyone who has had work done by Bean should call the Health Department at954-893-5175 or Zumpano at 561-688-4036.