HOUSTON – A Houston man is accused of practicing dentistry without a license after a Rhode Island man responded to an Instagram advertisement and was left with a disaster in his mouth.
Jadan Miorke, 34, is currently wanted on the felony charge as the victim continues dealing with serious complications.
“Your teeth ... it’s your smile, it’s your face, it’s your look, it’s your identity,” the victim Sheron Robinson told only KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry.
According to court records, Robinson saw an Instagram advertisement for Forever Veneers located off the Southwest Freeway. The ad offered 20 veneers for $8,700.
The Instagram account has more than 54,000 followers and appears to show many happy clients after their work is complete.
“It’s not like it’s a genuine reaction,” Robinson said he realized. “They’re telling you to do this, smile like this, say this.”
He traveled to Houston from Rhode Island first in February for an appointment.
“They seemed legit. You got to understand, like, this is a, this is a process that, like. The average person doesn’t know what to expect,” Robinson said.
He noticed a nice, clean office and people wearing scrubs during his visit, which came after he did a Zoom meeting.
During a Feb. 22 visit to Houston, he went to a Bellaire dental office, Truth Dental, for the cleaning before going back to Forever Veneers for the 3D scan done by Miorke, records show.
Robinson returned to Houston for a final appointment on March 13, when Miorke allegedly used dental power tools to grind down the surface of his teeth so the veneers could adhere to his natural teeth.
The appointment didn’t start until 9 p.m., records show. All of the travel was paid out of pocket, he said.
Once the teeth were grinded down, Miorke placed adhesive on Robinson’s teeth and placed the veneers over the adhesive, records show. Robinson told authorities that Miorke was the only one in the room during the entire process.
“Right after the install, it felt funny in my mouth,” Robinson said. “I couldn’t eat right. It was weird.”
Robinson told Houston Police his back molars were not touching, causing a noticeable gap, records show. The gap between his upper and lower molars prevented him from chewing his food and caused malocclusion with his other teeth.
“I have open pockets, so food is getting in,” he said. “One of them actually popped off.”
When Robinson told Miorke about the problems, he allegedly told him he had to come back to Houston and wouldn’t provide a refund.
“They weren’t willing to compromise with that at all,” Robinson said.
Robinson told Miorke he would have to take the issue to authorities, at which point he called the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners and realized Miorke didn’t have a license.
Robinson told authorities his teeth were “permanently disfigured” because of the procedure.
KPRC 2 stopped by the eighth floor office on Monday but no one answered the door and the lights inside were turned off.
“There’s a lot more variables than just looking nice going on there that you have to be aware of and be careful about,” said Dr. Austin Faulk of Montrose DDS.
Veneers usually start at more than $1,000 per tooth, he said, which raises questions about where the materials may have come from.
Potential long-term effects of botched veneers include:
- Jaw joint pain
- Cavities
- Gum health
- Tooth loss
"There’s this tendency for, I think, aesthetic procedures (to be) equating it to like getting your nails done. And that’s not what’s going on here,” Faulk said. "It usually ends up being a much greater cost out of pocket than just doing it the proper way the first time.”
Robinson is now trying to find the money to go through his dentist in Rhode Island to repair the smile he had hoped for after learning the veneers will have to be removed.
“They’ve taken advantage of every person that sat in that chair,” he said. “I’ll leave that up to God what’s deserved but I know they did me wrong.”
HPD’s Major Offenders Division is looking for any more potential victims. If you have been impacted, you can call them at 713-308-3100.
If you have been affected by unlicensed dental work at Forever Veneers or by Jadan Miorke, reach out to reporter Bryce Newberry at bnewberry@kprc.com.