‘MAGA dentist’ under fire after admitting she changes care based on patients’ politics

MAGA dentist, Dr. Harleen Grewal’s ‘jokes’ about laughing gas and Democratic patients have social media questioning her ethics and her license.

A California dentist is facing the repercussions of her words after a video surfaced on social media of her admitting that she alters her level of care depending on a patient’s political views. Dr. Harleen Grewal of Skyline Smile, a self-proclaimed “MAGA Dentist,” went viral when clips from a speech she gave at the Republican Liberty Gala in 2021resurfaced on social media. 

@riseupscv @Delta Dental Insurance Company @Cigna Healthcare @aetnahealthcare @_MetLife @Humana Official ♬ original sound – Riseupscv

“So I have a secret hat I use sometimes,” Dr. Grewal is heard saying in the resurfaced clips.  “It says, Make your smile great again. So I wear that when I work on my patients, and 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.’” 

Though her comments were met with laughter from the gala’s conservative crowd, they were received differently on social media. 

@capnkenknuckles Taking it out on kids in the MOST delicate places is WILD #fyp #blackwomenoftiktok #blacktiktokcommunity #dentistsoftiktok #dentistry ♬ original sound – 🖤Princesskendoll🖤

The laughing gas “joke” paired with the series of quips targeting democrats sparked a new wave of reactions on social media, with users filing complaints with the dental board, questioning Dr. Grewal’s ethics. The newly viral video was initially posted in 2021 by Skyline Smile to showcase the dentist’s personality, but was quickly deleted, per ABC 7. 

According to the LA Times, Dr. Grewal released a statement on her since-deleted Instagram pages which read: “At Skyline Smiles, every patient is family. We treat all of our patients with the same level of care, compassion, and respect because that’s what you deserve!”

In an interview with ABC 7, the board-certified pediatrician revealed that she was placed under investigation by the California Dental Board, where she was asked about her comments. 

“They asked me if I had said that, and I said, ‘Yes, I said it in one of my roasting speeches at a women’s Republican group.’ Just like the Democrats, they make jokes, too. We make jokes as well. Why can’t we just take a joke light-heartedly?” Grewal said. “But that was taken to cancel me, and the dental board did an investigation. They cleared it out and said there was nothing they could find that proved any of that.”

While Grewal believes that the controversy is a “smear campaign” and a result of “cancel culture,” Black dentists and health care providers have taken to social media to not only call out Grewal’s comments but also to highlight how Black healthcare providers are often forced to care for patients who are disrespectful and discriminatory towards them.

“It made me think about myself and how me as a young, black professional, I have been in several situations where I’m treating patients who are discriminatory against me, who have even called me colored, and I still proceeded to treat [them] after that experience,” Dr. Aierress Davis, a a licensed general dentist shared on TikTok recalling having to treat patients celebrating the 2024 presidential election results. “And as a U.S. citizen, obviously, we all have our own political beliefs, and we’re entitled to that. We’re entitled to support who we want to support. But
as a health care provider, your job is to treat people, and that doesn’t say this disclaimer, only people who agree with your political opinions, or only people who look like you, only people who support people that look like you.”

“When I see a patient, a patient is a person, and my job, all the training that I’ve done and I’ve amassed is to treat people,” she continued. “So to have somebody out there representing our profession, saying that proudly, that she does those kind of things…That is ridiculous. That’s harmful, that’s shameful, it’s unethical.”

The California Dental Board told the LA Times that investigations are confidential and that the organization does not comment on whether or not complaints have been submitted.