ATLANTA — A Fulton County magistrate judge denied bond for the man charged with making millions by performing cosmetic dental procedures without a license.
Brandon Dillard had his first appearance hearing from inside the Fulton County Jail.
Judge Holly Hughes told Dillard she believed there was a danger he would continue to perform the procedures if he was released on bond.
“I do believe he poses a risk. And the risk isn’t necessarily he’s out there with a gun shooting people. Risk is also when you are practicing medicine or dentistry without the proper licenses. Things can go horribly wrong,” Hughes said.
He calls himself Atlanta’s top veneer specialist, but the Fulton County District Attorney says Brandon Dillard has been practicing dentistry and medicine for years without a license.
Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray broke the story of Dillard’s arrest on Thursday on Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m.
Channel 2 Action News was there as Fulton County district attorney investigators and Atlanta police raided the Northeast Atlanta offices of “A List Smiles Atlanta” on Thursday.
The company has 157,000 followers on Instagram and has been in operation since 2021, but the criminal arrest warrants for Dillard say he is not a licensed dentist and has been illegally performing veneer procedures.
Prosecutors say Dillard was sent a cease-and-desist letter by the State Dental Board early this year but continued performing the veneer procedures.
Kristi Brown says she paid Dillard $3,000 for partial veneers and planned to go back and have more teeth done.
But she said her dentist immediately noticed something was wrong when she went in for a regular cleaning.
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“He kept asking who did this. You need to be careful. Did he have a dentist certificate? I was like, I don’t remember seeing any of that. I should have known,” Brown said.
“Brandon Dillard is not a dentist. He’s never been a dentist. And as much as he may want to play one on Instagram, he is not one,” said Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten.
Only a licensed dentist can legally perform the veneer procedures Dillard has been offering in Georgia. But “A List Smile’s” social media pages show off the smiles of what it says are satisfied patients and promote deals like raffle contests for the $5,500 veneer procedures.
Prosecutors allege Dillard has made more than $4 million by charging thousands of dollars not just for veneers, but also to train others to be veneer specialists or technicians.
Veneer specialists and technicians do not legally exist in Georgia.
“It’s very important that we find out who the other technicians are that came in, thought they learned a new trade and are performing it,” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said.
While the pictures of smiling clients look good on social media, Dr. Robin Reich, the past president of the Georgia Dental Association, says veneer procedures are medically complicated.
“There could be infection, inflammation, bad margins, jaw problems, speech problems. None of those show in a picture,” Reich said.
Dillard is being charged with eight felonies including practicing dentistry without a license, practicing medicine without a license and theft by deception.
“It does look reputable. It does look professional. And that’s part of the scam,” Wooten said.
The DA’s office is asking for people who were patients and people who were trained by Dillard to come forward.
Willis says while she currently considers those veneer specialists Dillard trained to be victims, if they keep practicing without a license they will be criminally charged too.
“They were enticing people to come in to take these classes so that you could get rich too. But you were getting rich doing something that’s completely illegal,” Willis said.
Any patient, trainee or other potential victim is asked to contact the Fulton County District Attorney by email at Fcda.fraudtips@fultoncountyga.gov.
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