Charlotte Woman Lost Thousands of Dollars After A ‘Veneer Tech’ Training Class

A Charlotte woman says she the victim of a dental scam, but now she’s the one in legal trouble. She says she paid for a class to become a veneer technician and now she’s in legal trouble with the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners.

Veneer technicians have become popular across the country and some of them are working right here in the Carolinas. Dental professionals say the practice is illegal, and can cause major health problems.

Andrea Joseph has thousands of dollars worth of dental equipment collecting dust in a room inside her home.

“I don’t want to see anybody else losing their money,” Joseph said. “I don’t want to see anybody else giving them their money for something that’s completely illegal and that can cause them health issues.”

Joseph says back in 2023, a man she believed was a dental assistant offered her a free set of veneers in exchange for videos he could use to promote his business on social media. She agreed and watched his business grow. She says he started offering classes to teach people how to install veneers and make money.

“He’s making a lot of money,” Joseph said. “So, that’s where the interest came in for me being like, oh, okay, this is something that I can do.”

Joseph says she paid $2,500 dollars for a two day, six hour class in Atlanta to become a veneer technician. Joseph says her training also included a kit with some items and consent forms.

“They made it seem like because we’re not physically shaving down anyone’s real teeth, you do not need this degree. You do not need to go to dental school for eight years.

You do not need to spend over $100,000 learning to do this, because we’re teaching you for $2,500,” Joseph said.

She finished the class and received a framed certificate with the trainer’s company and name on it. Joseph says she bought equipment and started practicing on clients. She posted videos to her Instagram and TikTok page and she says real dental professionals started calling her out.

“It was actual dentists. It was dental assistants,” Joseph said. “It was a bunch of different people who were coming out making these same videos and saying, this is illegal. You can really hurt people.”

Joseph says she stopped taking clients without a return on her investment. Last week, a sheriff’s deputy served her with a civil notice from the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners.

“When I actually started reading into it, I’m like, this is coming from the board. Like, this is this is serious, this is not just a client,” Joseph said. “This is bigger than that.”

The NC Board of Dental Examiners says there has been an uptick in complaints about unlicensed dental work.

In a statement to WCCB News, the CEO of the board says “The board aggressively pursues cases of the unauthorized/illegal practice of dentistry when it receives a complaint.

Many of these cases involve placement of veneers as well as other procedures that require a dental license under state law.”

Joseph says she lost thousands of dollars and her smile isn’t what it seems.

“I can’t even brush my teeth now without without my gums bleeding, it’s bad,” Joseph said. “So, I now have to seek out actual dental work from a real dentist and pay them to fix my smile.”

We reached out to the company where Joseph says she got the veneer tech training. The owner declined to comment, but he did say he hasn’t worked or hosted a class in Charlotte.

Joseph says she’s been in contact with the board of dental examiners and they say they won’t fine her if she provides a written statement that she no longer installs veneers.