A woman in Oklahoma has been charged with forgery after she was caught reportedly working for more than a year as a dental assistant without having a license, according to an article published on January 22 in the Oklahoman.
Carla Joy Dickenson, 45, allegedly submitted a forged permit to prove her credentials to work. She purportedly used the fake permit to work in 2022 at Affordable Dentures & Implants and later at the practice of Dr. Heather Cox in Oklahoma City.
In October 2023, an investigation by the state board of dentistry was launched after Dickenson reportedly used the forged permit to apply for a job at Integris Health and the company couldn’t verify its authenticity, according to the story.
The board investigator immediately recognized Dickenson’s permit as fraudulent because the state seal was the wrong color, the font was different than legal documents, and the number on the document was inaccurate, according to the story.
When the investigator spoke to Dickenson, she reportedly said that she previously worked in dentistry about a decade ago but let her permit lapse. She purportedly said that Affordable Dentures never verified her permit before permitting her to work chairside during patient appointments. While working there, she collected patient x-rays, assisted in adjusting dentures in patients’ mouths, and helped the dentist with administering anesthesia, according to the story.
Dickenson reportedly admitted to using another person’s permit to create a fake one though the process to apply for a dental assisting license is straightforward, and it only costs $50.
