Former patient reacts to woman arrested for practicing dental services without a license :: WRAL.com

A woman accused of providing dental services without a license and taking thousands of dollars from patients was arrested Friday by Raleigh police. 

Ebony Nicohole McBean, 42, was served a warrant, initially issued in November 2025, on Friday, and arrested for one count of practicing medicine without a license and three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense. It’s not clear why police arrested McBean three months after the warrant was issued.

McBean was recently at the center of a WRAL News story about patients who spent thousands to get braces from her business, The Smiling Face Company, but were not able to get questions answered about refunds, future service and patient records. 

In one case according to the warrant, McBean provided fraudulent dental services valued at $5,820 to put braces on the victim’s teeth, even though she was not a registered dentist and portrayed herself as one. 

The same case went for Nichelle Boone, who had $4,250 for braces services.  

“I requested treatment records several times; I requested them via email, I did request them via text message. I never got my treatment records,” Nichelle Boone told WRAL News back in November. “I still have yet to receive any type of proof of payment.”

In the case of Shayla Gist, whom WRAL News has spoken to about this company, McBean allegedly took $4,000 from Gist after putting braces on her son’s teeth. 

WRAL News spoke to Gist after finding out about McBean’s arrest, in which she said she’s glad McBean was arrested. 

“It was so discouraging from the beginning, but I’m a praying woman and I left it to God,” Gist said to WRAL News Saturday. “I said, however he sees fit that it will go, and then I received this phone call from you letting me know that she was arrested. My faith will get me through all of this.”

Gist said that other certified orthodontists informed her it would take another $3,000 to continue her son’s treatment, on top of the $4,000 she lost to McBean. 

Gist said that her son has been enduring pain from his braces for the last three months, so much so that he doesn’t want them on anymore. 

“It’s been stressful for him, it’s been stressful for me trying to keep him encouraged that we’re going to get everything figured out,” Gist explained. “I Feel like when I pay the $4,000, I shouldn’t be talking about braces anymore. It should be about time for them to come out, but instead I’m about to pay another $3,000 to continue, and he’s going to have these braces on for another two years.”

Gist said she will be reaching out to authorities to try and get her money back from McBean’s practice. She added that she has yet to hear from McBean. 

In all three cases, McBean allegedly told her victims that she was working under a Dr. Ramsey, whom she said she would consult with for the installation and maintenance of orthodontic work on all her patients.

The arrest warrants state that McBean has no affiliation to Ramsey in any way. 

WRAL News reported that Dr. Darren Ramsey was the listed provider on invoices and as the dental medical director for the company. However, Ramsey’s license was in probationary status, according to the board’s portal.

Documents from the licensing board say he allowed unlicensed people to perform services and didn’t keep patient records at another business in Charlotte.

“I never saw the Dr. Ramsey that [Grady] had referred to during my initial consultation,” Boone also recalled in a separate interview.

Throughout their treatment, all of the patients who talked to WRAL News said McBean was the person who put on their braces and made adjustments throughout the process. However, a search for her name in the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners portal yielded no results.

On Yelp, McBean boasted a 15-year career as an orthodontic assistant.

North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners CEO Bobby White said no results likely means she does not have a dental license.

After the company faced scrutiny from its patients, the Smiling Face Company shut its doors in October—just one day after notifying patients. Warrants for McBean’s arrest were issued on Nov. 12, 2025, but she wasn’t arrested until Friday. 

McBean posted a $3,000 bond Saturday morning around 6 a.m. She is scheduled to appar in court on these charges at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

This offense comes almost a full year after a warning from the State Board of Dental Examiners to the public about a troubling trend of people posing as dentists to perform shoddy work that would later cost a lot of money to repair.