On Saturday, an old video resurfaced of a California dentist bragging that she withholds laughing gas from patients who don’t like her politics. The clip has blown up online and landed her office in the middle of a storm.
Dr. Harleen Grewal, who proudly calls herself the “MAGA Dentist,” made the remarks during a 2021 speech at the Republican Liberty Gala. In the video, she said she sometimes works on patients while wearing a hat that reads, “Make Your Smile Great Again.”
“I wear that when I work on my patients, so when they look horrified or complain, I quietly cut back on the laughing gas and say: You got this, it’s not as bad as you think it is,” Grewal told the audience.
She laughed as the crowd cheered.
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Grewal runs Skyline Smiles in Santa Clarita, California. Her clinic features a “wall of fame” filled with photos of Republican leaders and conservative figures. One of those photos shows her with President Donald Trump.
In her speech, Grewal described how some patients walk in, see the photos, and bolt. “They jump up and take off as if Trump was coming in the room,” she joked.
The video also captured her mocking Democrats who wore masks during the pandemic. “I miss when the Dems stayed home,” she said. “I wish they still did.”
She added another jab at patients who complain about her prices. “After hearing certain Democrats complain about my prices, I look at them, confused, and say: How’s Bidenomics working for you?” she said, drawing cheers and shouts of “That’s right!” from the crowd.
Once the clip started making rounds this week, Yelp slapped Skyline Smiles with an “unusual activity alert.” In a notice, Yelp wrote: “This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news.”
Another California dental clinic with the same name scrambled to clarify that it had no connection to Grewal or her comments.
Grewal, however, seemed unfazed. Speaking on a conservative radio show called Voices of the Future, she claimed her controversial words actually boosted her business. “I got so many more patients,” she said.
She tried to downplay her original remarks. “I do not differentiate [teeth]… red or blue, they’re white, so I can’t tell if it’s a Democrat tooth or a Republican tooth,” she insisted.
In a self-published article titled You Can’t Cancel Me, Grewal said her comments were jokes taken out of context. She claimed the California Dental Board even sent an investigator to her clinic after a complaint accused her of mistreating patients for political reasons.
“This ridiculous claim was pulled from a lighthearted joke I made during a speech at the Republican Liberty Gala,” Grewal wrote. “My words were twisted, and my career was targeted.”
The California Dental Association did not laugh. In a statement to KTLA, the group said: “The comments in this video, even if intended as humor, do not reflect the ethical standards of the dental profession.”
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
