Dentist Tells Barista That Her Teeth Will Never Look Good, Then Acts Surprised When She Hides From His Camera — ‘I Could Fix Them’
His act of good will wasn't what it seemed.
Anna Shvets / Pexels From a young age, we’re taught our personalities matter more than our appearances. We soak up the message that having a good soul and a strong work ethic will bring us success, yet real life tends to not be that simple or sweet.
The truth is that our physical appearance is directly linked to ideas about what’s acceptable and professional, who holds value, and who has access to cultural capital.
After a young woman was insulted by predatory dental influencer, Dr. Kenny, she protected herself from further harm at his hands by refusing his offer to fix her teeth.
The dentist told the barista that her teeth would never look good, then acted surprised when she hid from his camera.
Dr. Kenny, whose given name is Kenneth Wilstead, is a Texas-based dentist who’s found viral fame by offering to fix women’s teeth on TikTok.
In a video since deleted from his account, Wilstead drove up to a Starbucks drive-thru, confronting the barista with a very personal question as she handed him an iced coffee: “Can I fix your teeth?”
She looked initially shell-shocked as Wilstead exclaimed, “I do that so good. I’m dead serious.”
“I’ve been looking for somebody to do so,” she said, smiling in a truly joyful way.
The conversation took an abrupt turn when Wilstead insulted the barista while offering his services, saying, “Your canines grew and had to be shifted into that space, and it is just not ever gonna look good.”
The barista wrote down his information, and Wilstead drove away. Then, to celebrate his good deed, he turned the camera on himself.
“I’m excited for her,” he exclaimed. “She was so happy.”
Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels
In the next frame, Wilstead filmed himself going back into the drive-thru line, supposedly to reveal that he had “A little bit more of a surprise in store for her.”
Yet as he pulled his car back around, Wilstead watched as the barista walked away.
“Where the [expletive] is she going?” he muttered.
Wilstead’s phone kept filming, capturing his conversation with the Starbucks manager.
“I already drove through the line once and told her I could fix it,” he explained. “But I wanted to drive through it again and actually surprise her with telling her I’m not gonna charge her for it.”
Cedric Fauntleroy / Pexels
“Is that you who had the camera out?” The manager can be heard asking. “That’s probably why she won’t come back over.”
Wilstead seemed confused and taken aback, saying, “That’s fine. I mean, she doesn’t have to accept it; I was just going to offer it to her.”
The dentist filmed his reaction, exclaiming, 'Epic fail,' after the barista refused to interact with him a second time.
“She would not come to the window, and her boss came instead,” he said like he was surprised that insulting her appearance led her to disengage.
“Sometimes, if a camera’s out, something good might happen. It’s not always bad,” he exclaimed. “You snooze, you lose.”
It turns out his offers aren’t based on generosity or actual kindness, but rather, they’re a way to take advantage of and harass vulnerable women who believe they’re receiving help.
There are layers of egregious entitlement to unpack in Wilstead’s interaction with the barista: his self-aggrandizing offer for free dental work put him in a position of power, making him seem just so generous.
The dentist is actually putting women in vulnerable positions so that he can assault them.
There’s no shortage of testimonials from women on TikTok decrying Wilstead as an abuser.
Influencer Mama Tot, who teamed up with the dentist to give away dental care, ended up publicly denouncing him due to allegations of verbal and sexual harassment from women he treated.
Grammy-award winning singer Jewel also revealed Wilstead’s criminality, all while defending her decision to keep her teeth the way they are, saying, "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."
"I'm so tired of the predatory behavior [against] women," Jewel said. "I really hope this gets called out. I hope a bigger deal gets made out of it."
There’s nothing wrong with wanting straighter, whiter teeth, just as there’s nothing wrong with having a crooked smile, either.
What’s wrong is the way Wilstead uses dentistry to prey on women who want to change their smiles.
Hopefully, every story exposing his true nature takes him down a little further, returning power and agency to the women who are brave enough to speak out.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.