Abused woman who lost job over busted teeth gets a new smile

An Ohio woman who lost her cashier job at a Sheetz convenience store because her broken teeth — knocked out by her abusive ex-husband — violated the chain’s “smile policy” now has something to smile about.

Tears of joy poured from the eyes of Rose Marie Counts on Monday afternoon as she saw her new teeth in the mirror for the first time.

“Oh, my God,” she said, reaching over to hug Dr. Daniel Rubinshtein, the cosmetic dentist in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, who made it all possible. “It’s amazing. It’s pretty.

“I can’t stop looking at myself,” she said.

The 42-year-old mother of two from Circleville, Ohio, has good reason to be happy. Not only does she have a new smile — she also influenced her former employer to change its controversial policy.

In January, Counts posted on Facebook that her manager at a Sheetz store told her she could no longer work the register because her teeth violated the retail chain’s so-called “smile policy.”

According to Counts, twenty years ago her then-husband head-butted her in the mouth after she forgot to turn off a light, knocking out some of her teeth and leaving others chipped and broken. Over the years, her mouth health deteriorated to the point that she had no teeth on top and was missing teeth on the sides and suffering from infected gums, she said. Her damaged bottom teeth could be seen when she smiled.

“The policy is that all Sheetz employees must maintain a warm and welcoming smile and have 90 days to do so,” Counts said, adding, “But my insurance would have taken nine months [to get new teeth approved and completed].

“I told my supervisor it is not a place I want to work for because they do not have the morals I value. She said, ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ … I walked out, bawling like a baby, feeling like I was an inch tall.”’

A spokesperson for Sheetz previously told The Post that the company’s “intent has always been to help [Counts] and to determine which of our assistance programs may apply to her situation.”

Store policy reportedly states that “Sheetz believes that an employee’s smile during interactions with customers and coworkers is critical to creating the sense of hospitality in our stores that we strive for.”

As Counts’ Facebook post went viral, friends forwarded it to Dr. Rubinshtein, who has treated celebrity patients including Dennis Rodman and rapper Jermaine Dupri. “I asked if she would be willing to come to New York for us to restore her smile,” the dentist told The Post.

Even though some of Counts’ friends thought “I was nuts to travel so far for dental work,” she went for it. Rubinshtein a team of 12 specialists did two months’ worth of work in just three days, comping what would have been $60,000 worth of care and reconstruction, as well as Counts’ hotel and airfare.

“Not having teeth messes with digestion, speech and nutrition,” said Rubinshtein, who is part of a family practice called Bensonhurst Dental of New York. “Her bite was collapsed. We rebuilt the missing teeth and saved the bottom teeth. There was extensive decay, broken-down teeth and her gums needed work. After bringing in a periodontist and other specialists to restore the mouth, we did root canals and made sure her health was stable. Then we used a combination of veneers and dentures to rebuild her teeth.”

Counts described her new mouth as “life-changing.” Considering her before and after photos, she said, “I’ve long been self-conscious about my teeth, trying to not smile, always keeping my mouth closed. No longer.”

She has something else to celebrate, too — three weeks after leaving Sheetz, Counts landed a job as a healthcare assistant.

Counts said she probably could have gone back to her old job after getting her teeth fixed. In fact, the company told The Post, Sheetz has changed its policy because of her.

“As a family owned and operated company, nothing is more important than creating an environment that is inclusive and supportive of all of our employees. Recently through employee feedback, we have learned that the smile policy is not aligned with these values from their perspective. We agree. Effective immediately, this policy is discontinued,” Stephanie Doliveira, Executive Vice President of People & Culture at Sheetz, said in a statement to The Post.

“Sheetz reached out [after her post went public] and said that they still considered me an employee,” Counts said. “I was told that if I came back, they’ll take care of my dental needs for free. I think it was damage control. I said, ‘No thanks.’

“I will never set foot in Sheetz again.”

Now, she has dinner plans.

“There were a lot of foods I couldn’t eat,” Counts said. “I want to eat a hard-shell taco.”