Quantcast

Valbona Yzeiraj, Bronx office manager, accused of poses as dentist, botching root canals

Stock image of an x-ray of teeth.
Stock image of an x-ray of teeth. Photo Credit: Anthony Lanzilote

A Riverdale office manager was arrested for posing as a dentist and botching multiple procedures while the real doctor was away, prosecutors said on Thursday.

The woman, Valbona Yzeiraj, of White Plains, was charged with several offenses, including second-degree assault and unauthorized practice, for allegedly seeing patients while the doctor was out from late 2012 to the summer of 2013.

She pleaded not guilty and was held in lieu of $20,000 bail during her arraignment on Thursday. An attorney for Yzeiraj did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yzeiraj, known as “Dr. Val,” allegedly botched root canals, causing at least one patient to get an infection and another who suffers persistent pain two years after the procedure, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office.

She was fired as soon as her boss found out, and is then accused of trying to steal from the practice. Yzeiraj apparently claimed to have dental training in her home country of Albania, but was not licensed or trained in America.

Yzeiraj’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 28.