In this Wednesday, July 24, 2013 photo, Monica Salazar-Orozco and her mother, Elizabeth Hinojosa walk to the courtroom to plead guilty at the Oklahoma County Courthouse in Oklahoma City . Hinojosa, a dental assistant, and her daughter, a dental receptionist, both plead guilty to practicing dentistry without a license. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Paul B. Southerland)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A mother and daughter from Texas have pleaded guilty to performing dentistry without a license after hours at an Oklahoma City clinic.

Prosecutors allege that Elizabeth Hinojosa of Jourdanton, Texas, worked as a dental assistant during the day. Her daughter, Monica Salazar Orozco, worked as the clinic’s receptionist.

Authorities allege Hinojosa posed as a dentist after hours and performed root canals, extracted teeth and placed braces on patients. Prosecutors claim Orozco helped schedule the after-hours appointments.

Hinojosa pleaded guilty Wednesday to practicing dentistry without a license, second-degree forgery, medical battery and embezzlement. The Oklahoman reports she was sentenced to five years in prison.

“I conducted dental procedures on several individuals without having a license to practice dentistry,” Hinojosa wrote in court paperwork. “I performed extractions and injections which only a dentist should perform. I am not a dentist.”

Hinojosa declined to comment after the court hearing.

Orozco received a five-year deferred sentence after pleading guilty to practicing dentistry without a license. In court paperwork, Orozco admitted assisting her mother with “tooth extractions, root canal procedures and the placement and adjustment of braces.”

Hinojosa received prison time because “she was much more culpable,” Oklahoma County First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said.

“She is the one who held herself out as a dentist and was performing the actual dental and orthodontic procedures,” Rowland said.

As part of the plea agreement, both women agreed to never work in a dental office or perform dental procedures.

Prosecutors alleged that the women worked for a dentist who did not speak Spanish, so they acted as translators. Prosecutors said Orozco would schedule appointments after hours, and the clinic’s office calls would be forwarded to their personal phones.

Authorities say 22 adults and children were treated by Hinojosa, known as “Dr. Liz” to the patients. According to court records, the alleged incidents took place between Sept. 1, 2010, and May 26, 2011.

 

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.