Jewel Exposes Influencer Dentist Who Allegedly Offers To Fix Women's Teeth Then Humiliates Them On Camera
Somehow he's flown under the radar, but Dr. Kenny Smiles' horrifying videos don't lie — and neither does his long history of regulatory violations.
@jewel / TikTok Singer Jewel has taken to TikTok to call out a wildly popular influencer, Texas dentist Dr. Kenny Smiles, for shocking social media videos of his interactions with female patients.
Dr. Kenny Smiles, whose real name is Kenneth Wilstead, has made a name for himself online for helping women fix their teeth, often for free. But video clips shared by multiple TikTokers and amplified by Jewel suggest there may be a disturbing underbelly to his generosity, especially given his history of regulatory violations in Texas.
Jewel shared videos allegedly showing Dr. Kenny Smiles humiliating and making sexual comments to female patients.
Wilstead, also known as @drkennysmilesofficial on TikTok, is a Texas-based, self-described "politically incorrect dentist" who has become well-known on the app for performing free procedures for women in need of extensive dental work.
But a prospective patient's claims that he made sexual overtures to her while discussing his services has resulted in several clips from Wilstead's social media posts coming into question, in which he appears to make degrading and harassing comments, many of which are of a sexual nature.
Musican Jewel shared screenshots of several of these videos in a recent TikTok calling out Dr. Kenny Smiles for his alleged behavior. "Doctor Kenny smiles has been humiliating women," Jewel said in her video.
"He has been running these contests saying he's casting for a show," Jewel went on to say. "He helps give free smiles, and then he is so degrading and so disgusting and acts like such a predator that I am in shock."
The screen captures that Jewel highlights are indeed shocking. In some, he appears to mock womens' teeth as "disgusting" while peppering in ableist slurs and comments. Some of the incidents depicted occur while the women appear to be sedated under anesthesia.
Another clip shows him commenting on a patient's breasts and remarking on how her husband must only look at her from the neck down due to her ugly teeth. In yet another, he uses a vulgarity to suggest a woman is finally going to lose her virginity now that he's fixing her teeth, telling her "you're going to get [expletive] for the first time for sure."
In many cases the patients appear to laugh along with his jokes, but as many women have pointed out in other TikToks attempting to expose him, laughing along with jokes of this nature is a common self-defense response in people who feel threatened.
Jewel said she was also inspired to share the videos because she was infamously bullied in the press for her own crooked teeth at the height of her fame. "I intentionally, obviously didn't fix them because the amount of shame and humiliation and bullying that women especially get over this topic is so awful and cruel."
Having "bad" teeth is more than just embarrassing, though — it has also been shown to make it harder for people to find a job, for example. Jewel called Wilstead's alleged leveraging of these difficulties to lure women into appearing in degrading and sexualized videos "predatory."
The allegations against Wilstead were first brought to light after TikTok influencer and philanthropist Mama Tot severed ties with him over alleged sexual harassment.
TikToker Mama Tot, also known as @ophelia and shoelover99 on the app, is a popular influencer who has run contests called Mama Tot's Smiles in which she partnered with Wilstead to provide women in need of extensive dental work with low or no-cost dental care.
In a recent video calling out Wilstead, she acknowledged the extensive good he has done for many of the winners of these contests. But she also called out the multiple incidents of alleged abuse, humiliation and sexual harassment that women who have won his contests say they have been subjected to while receiving their dental care.
Accusations brought by TikToker @taylynm against Wilstead have been particularly bracing. In a series of viral TikToks, Taylyn alleges that Wilstead made sexual comments to her in DMs about her potential casting in a forthcoming video project about his dental practice.
Screenshots of the DMs show Wilstead requesting additional "clothing optional" photos to help him decide if she would be chosen for the television show. In her caption on one of the TikToks, she excoriated Wilstead for his behavior.
"This was supposed to be a shot at a life-changing smile," she wrote. "I can honestly say I didn’t find this funny, my fiancé didn’t either. I don’t think this man’s WIFE would appreciate this."
She also cautioned other women against responding to Wilstead's casting calls, saying in her video, "if you're entering into this giveaway, just know that it's about more than just teeth." She went on to say that while she is "appalled" by the experience, she is "extremely thankful" that Wilstead's alleged harassment inspired her to do "research on who I was putting the hands of my dental care in."
Dr. Kenny Smiles has been reprimanded by Texas regulatory authorities for multiple violations in the past.
Wilstead's career has been marked by several violations of Texas state medical standards. Documents posted by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners show that on three separate occasions in 2015, 2019 and 2021 he was reprimanded and fined for ethics violations, failing to follow standard dental procedures, and for improperly prescribing medications.
A 2015 filing reprimands Wilstead for "dishonorable" prescribing of "controlled substances" for both patients and himself, including sleeping pills and the weight loss drug phentermine; and for over-prescribing pain medications to patients, including the opioid hydrocodone.
Filings in May of 2019 and September of 2021 address multiple lapses of standard dental procedures and ethical violations, including failing to address noticeable tooth decay and to use basic safety measures. The 2021 filing also points out that Wilstead no longer held permits for sedation or anesthesia at that time.
Alluding to this history, Jewel said she was "shook and shocked this isn't a bigger story" and that Wilstead has been able to fly under the radar for so long. "I'm so tired of the predatory behavior [against] women," she went on to say. "I really hope this gets called out. I hope a bigger deal gets made out of it."
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.