Leesburg man made teeth grills at home without dentistry license, police say

LEESBURG, Fla. — A 26-year-old man on Friday was arrested on charges of practicing dentistry without a license, the Leesburg Police Department said.

Investigators said Allen Turner had been making custom molds for dental grills at his home.

Turner told Channel 9 on Monday that he was unaware that what he was doing was illegal and that he considers himself more of a jeweler.

He said a Florida Department of Health investigator and a police officer visited his home to order him to stop doing the work and he obeyed them.

"I see a lot of people doing it," Turner said. "(I) never figured you need a license for it."

Police said they discovered multiple drills, cutting tools and other equipment at his home.

"I think people make assumptions when things are just cosmetic in nature -- that it doesn't necessarily require licensing," Leesburg police Lt. Joe Iozzi said.

Turner said he was fined $1,000 and was arrested several weeks later, once the state attorney's office chose to file charges against him.

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He said business had been good thanks to Facebook.

"This is big in the hip-hop industry," Turner said.

He said he would charge customers several hundred dollars apiece, but he has chosen to call it quits.

"I don't want to do it no more, man," Turner said. "I don't want no parts of it. None at all. None at all, man."

Turner was released from the Lake County Jail after paying bail. He has a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 22.

Cox Media Group