Woman Found Guilty of Performing Dental Procedures Without Proper License, Sentenced to Jail After Offering Veneer Services to Customers at Norfolk Shop

NORFOLK, Va. — Essense Martin, 33, was found guilty on Thursday of misdemeanor practice of dentistry without a valid license and was sentenced to jail time after she unlawfully performed composite veneer services at her Norfolk tooth jewelry storefront.

In early 2022, the Virginia Department of Health Professions received several complaints regarding Ms. Martin and her business Essential Grillz LLC, located at 3520 E. Little Creek Road. The concerns in the complaints pertained to Ms. Martin performing composite veneer placement, which involves the use of certain chemicals and tools that would require appropriate licensure and supervision of a dentist. Ms. Martin is a certified dental assistant, but that certification neither qualifies her to be a dentist nor enables her to place veneers on her clients. Ms. Martin had nonetheless offered veneer placement to her clients and called the procedure “noninvasive semi-permanent veneers” in the waivers clients would sign. Ms. Martin’s description of her procedures was false. In placing the veneers, Ms. Martin had to use tools invasively to shave down or change the shape of her clients’ teeth, which permanently alters the teeth in a way only licensed dentists legally may do.

Virginia State Police began criminally investigating Ms. Martin and her business following the Virginia DHP investigation. Investigators found videos on Ms. Martin’s Facebook page showing her performing the veneer placement procedures, and they obtained a search warrant of her Essential Grillz storefront. There, investigators confirmed that the chemicals and tools Ms. Martin had been using were meant for use in invasive procedures. Investigators also identified former clients of Ms. Martin’s business who confirmed they had had veneers placed by Ms. Martin. Based on that information, in August 2022, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office secured an indictment from a grand jury against Ms. Martin for felony performance of an invasive procedure without a license.

In January 2024, Ms. Martin entered an agreement to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of practicing a profession without a valid license. The plea agreement Ms. Martin accepted gave the judge the option to find Ms. Martin guilty of that misdemeanor immediately or to defer a conviction and wait to decide whether to convict Ms. Martin. Judge David W. Lannetti found the evidence sufficient for the misdemeanor charge, took Ms. Martin’s plea agreement under advisement, and deferred any finding of guilt pending the Court’s review of her pre-sentence report.

At Ms. Martin’s initial sentencing hearing in July, Ms. Martin informed the Court that she had enrolled at a local college and intended to pursue a professional degree in dentistry. Based on that information, Judge Lannetti deferred imposing a finding of guilt and took the matter under advisement once more, giving Ms. Martin one year to show her progress and demonstrate her compliance. However, a former client of Ms. Martin’s came forward in August and informed the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office that — in the time since Ms. Martin’s July hearing — Ms. Martin had continued offering veneer services “on the low” without a license, that the veneers she had received from Ms. Martin had caused her discomfort, and that Ms. Martin had refused to remove them.

The prosecutor informed the Court and Ms. Martin’s defense counsel of this new allegation and moved to advance Ms. Martin’s hearing that had been set for next July up to Thursday, Dec. 19. Ms. Martin appeared for her hearing on Thursday and did not have proof of any grades for college classes. After hearing the August victim’s testimony and arguments from the prosecutor and Ms. Martin’s defense counsel, Judge Lannetti accepted Ms. Martin’s plea agreement, found her guilty of the misdemeanor charge, and sentenced her to serve five days in jail with an additional five months and 25 days suspended on the conditions that Ms. Martin be of uniform good behavior and complete supervised probation through Norfolk Adult Community Supervision for 12 months following her release.

“Dental care is health care and is essential to maintaining people’s long-term health,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Ms. Martin misled, took advantage of, and harmed multiple people by practicing dentistry without a license. Ms. Martin had the opportunity, courtesy of the judge and of us, to reform and do better and possibly even avoid a conviction. She threw away that opportunity by going right back to her criminal behavior. Now she has been convicted of a crime and will go to jail instead. We will continue to offer a path to rehabilitation to those who merit it and to hold accountable the people who waste their second chance.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Caswell W. Richardson prosecuted Ms. Martin’s case, and Virginia State Police Special Agent John K. Feryus led the investigation.

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