HOUSTON — A Katy woman was arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 22, because Houston police say she's been posing as a dentist.
Angelica Vivas, 46, is charged with two counts of dentistry act violation, a third-degree felony.
According to court documents, Vivas performed a complex root canal on a woman even though she was not a licensed dentist or oral surgeon.
At a court appearance, the judge said Vivas put the woman under anesthesia several times and left her in "excruciating pain."
"As horrifying as the root canal extraction is, it's more horrifying that she was placing people under anesthesia," the judge said. "These are highly dangerous scenarios. Anytime somebody goes under anesthesia, there's always the possibility of neurological or cardiac scenarios."
He said anesthesia can even lead to death if something goes wrong.
According to the prosecutor, the patient also had damage to her teeth. He said one of the teeth broke off and the root was left inside.
The woman told investigators that she "suffered a tremendous amount of pain."
The victim spoke to KHOU 11 News, choosing to remain anonymous.
"El dolor seguía, el dolor seguía," she said, recalling the pain she endured for months.
"La salud no se recuperan tan fácil," she said.
She says recovering her health hasn’t been easy. In September, she finally went to the police to file the report.
"Me dijo sigue tomando los medicamentos, va a pasar, es normal," she said.
She claims Vivas told her to keep taking medication, saying it'll go away.
"Me dijo que que pues ya no podía hacer nada más," she said.
Vivas allegedly told her she couldn't do any more to help, so the victim went to another dentist who gave her an estimate of $20,000 to fix the problem.
Instead, she returned to Vivas to get it fixed, but Vivas allegedly tried to bring in another dentist from out of town to help. The woman refused.
"Toda mi lengua y mis encías todas moradas," she said.
Her tongue and gum were purple, she claimed. She went back to the second dentist who she said performed emergency dental surgery.
She said she's still not done with her medical issues from that first procedure. She has to see a neurologist due to the numbness on one side of her face and is also seeking therapy.
Now, she has a message for others, especially the Hispanic community.
"Latinos, abramos más los ojos y no nos dejemos llevar," she said, warning others to not get carried away by something less expensive because their life could be on the line.
Court documents say Vivas also offered to perform dental work on an undercover officer investigating the case.
The Harris County DA's Office said there may be other victims.
Vivas was released from jail after posting bonds totaling $100,000.