A local business owner and practicing dentist came under fire this week over jokes about “torturing” her patients with different political views in a now viral video that dates back to 2024 but has circulated across multiple social media platforms this week, with cumulative views in the millions.
The video was filmed nearly two years ago at a Republican Liberty Gala gathering where Harleen Grewal was invited to do a standup comedy roast, she told The Signal on Thursday afternoon in her dental office.
Once the full speech was available for viewing, she uploaded her 10-minute performance on her Facebook profile in September 2024. The video can be viewed at tinyurl.com/3vx9xp7p.
This week, it was noticed by social media users who objected to her comments, and it began circulating Wednesday across apps such as TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook. The video has drawn thousands of comments from critics, some of whom say she should no longer be a practicing medical professional.
Grewal is the owner of Skyline Smiles, a local dentistry located on the 28000 block of La Madrid Drive in Saugus.
According to excerpts of the video that went viral, Grewal has a secret “Make Your Smile Great Again” hat that she wears when she works on patients.
“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,” she says in the video.
She defended her statements Thursday, saying her patients have never complained about her work, and the video was meant to be humorous.
Other comments in the video included: “I get patients that come into my office, and when they see the pictures, you’d think their butt was on fire,” she says referring to the “Wall of Fame” she has on display in her dental office with figures such as President Donald Trump and other local Republican figures.
But “it went viral for the wrong reasons,” she said on Thursday. “It was nothing that was secret or hidden.”
The 20-year practicing dentist has been in the local area for about five years. “My patients love me, I love my patients. My staff loves me, I love them. I’m just a very giving person,” she said.
About six months ago, Grewal received a visit from the Dental Board of California after someone filed a complaint referencing the now viral video.
“‘Somebody stated that you publicly said you torture patients of the opposing political view when they’re in your chair,’” Grewal said, quoting the investigator.
Grewal then provided context to the complaint and after the investigator didn’t note any malpractice she was cleared to continue to provide dental services.
According to the Dental Board of California, her license is currently active and set to expire on May 31, 2027.
Grewal acknowledged that it’s not common among medical professionals to share their political views but, “I just don’t really have anything to hide. I’ve always been a very open, clear, transparent person,” she said, adding that she is a registered Republican and is affiliated with other local conservative groups.
“People need to relax a little bit like, chill,” she said as a message to the public. “Sometimes everything in life isn’t so serious and you don’t have to take it out of context just to make something go viral … This is more of a smear campaign, which to me, seems to be launched by the local Democratic Party,” she said adding that most of the critical comments and online reviews are from out-of-state online users.
After the video went viral, Skyline Smiles received hundreds of poor reviews on Yelp and Google.
Due to an “unusual activity alert,” Yelp posted on the Skyline Smiles page that it has disabled further comments to be posted under the business due to recent public attention.
“While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events,” the Yelp message states.
Grewal understands that there may be some mistrust with her patients and the rest of the community as a result of the fallout from the video, but she welcomes patients from all walks of life no matter what political party they may be affiliated with, or how they identify.
“I have patients that are from the LGBT community. I have patients that are, you know, minority like myself. I speak Spanish. I have Hispanic patients. I connect with human beings of all walks of life,” she added. “Taking this and making it into something that’s not even close to the truth, it’s very disheartening especially when you know you should be able to have some fun in life.”
