Davie man runs faux dental practice from home

John Collazos arrested in past for illegally practicing dentistry

DAVIE, Fla. – A Davie man was arrested Saturday after police received a tip that he was performing dentistry without a license at his home. 

The tipster told police that her ex-boyfriend John Collazos was practicing dentistry in his home, and provided photos as evidence, police said. The woman had originally gone to police to file a report that Collazos had hit her and caused a bruise. 

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The photo the woman showed police was of Collazos wearing scrubs, gloves and a face mask, while a patient sat in a red recliner chair. There were also common dental tools shown in the photo.

Collazos was arrested in 2013 for practicing dentistry without a license. He was later placed on probation. 

The woman told police that for about a month, Collazos had been practicing dentistry from his home, and that he has about seven to eight patients a week, a police report said. The woman also said that one of the four bedrooms was converted into a dental office. 

She said most patients are referred to Collazos through world-of-mouth, and that Collazos talks to most of his patients with his cellphone to pick them up or schedule them for appointments. 

Most of Collazos' clients are immigrants, the woman said, and can't afford dental work or do not have health insurance, according to the police report. 

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She also said that her relationship with Collazos had been rocky since February, when he began seeing another woman, the report said. 

The pair had gotten into an argument in April, and the woman claims that Collazos grabbed her by the jaw tightly so she couldn't yell, and then grabbed her by the arm so she couldn't move, police said. 

She was eventually able to get away and took photos of her injuries the next day, the police report said. The photos showed large black and blue marks on her face and arm.

The woman was also able to provide photos of the faux dentist office, which included a red recliner chair, metal table with a dental drill, and a foot pedal to control the drill, the report said. In addition, gloves, scalpels, paper towels, mouth sponges and other tools were shown. 

The Florida Department of Health was then notified. 

Police conducted a surveillance at Collazos' home Friday and during that time saw people go into the home for what appeared to be dental work, the police report said. 

The next day, the woman told police that Collazos had become spooked by the investigation and was planning on removing all the equipment from the home, the report said. 

Later that day a warrant was obtained to arrest Collazos. Soon after, police arrived home. 

"In the upstairs bedroom there was a red chair and some dental equipment that the witness described and were still set up like the picture she took," the police report said. "There were numerous dental items removed from the house as evidence." 

Those pieces of equipment included drills, picks, an air compressor and gauze. 

Collazos declined to speak to police without an attorney present. 

He was been arrested on charges that include battery, violation of probation and practicing dentistry without a license.