HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A father and son have been arrested and charged with practicing dentistry without a license in an office in northwest Houston.
Byron Alberto Zelaya, 58, and his son, 31-year-old Bryant Jesus Zelaya, are charged with felony unlawful practice of dentistry. Zelaya’s nephew, Omar Navarrete-Sevilla, 29, faces the same charge but at a misdemeanor level.
All three were arrested at 6401 Bingle on Monday. Officers with the Houston police Major Offenders Division said the father and son did dental procedures inside the filthy office and the nephew made mouth molds and worked with tools.
According to court documents, Byron Zelaya told police he was self-taught, had previously worked in a dental lab and had been practicing at the Bingle office for about a year. The victim paid $2,000 for a cleaning and brackets in preparation for braces but was alarmed by the unsanitary conditions and the absence of diplomas or licenses on the walls, documents say.