Domestic violence survivor who lost her job at convenience store over bad teeth will get new smile

A Brooklyn dentist will provide a free set of new teeth to a woman who had hers knocked out by her ex-husband. 

Rose Marie Counts lost her job at a Sheetz gas station in Ohio over a breach of the company’s ‘smile policy’ but her luck finally turned after cosmetic dentist Dr. Daniel Rubinshtein invited her to New York and volunteered to give her a new smile.

‘I’m so excited and so happy, and amazed,’ Counts told DailyMail.com from Rubinshtein’s clinic on Tuesday. She explained how the dentist had made contact soon after news broke of her circumstances. 

‘Within minutes I had spoken to Dr. Daniel and he said, “I’m going to help you,” and they brought me out here to New York and we’re talking about getting everything worked on and fixed,’ she said. 

‘There was a story that she was fired because of an unfortunate domestic incident and we’re here to help her, we’re here to change her smile and change her life,’ said Rubinshtein from his clinic in Brooklyn Heights. 

Rose Marie Counts’ luck finally turned after cosmetic dentist Dr. Daniel Rubinshtein invited her to New York where he volunteered to give her a new smile. Her teeth were knocked out by an ex-husband and her appearance bothered management at a gas station where she was working

Rubinshtein runs the Bensonhurst Dental Clinic in southwest Brooklyn. He has an Instagram following of more than 400,000 people.

Counts was headbutted in the mouth by her ex-husband, causing her to lose her front teeth. In early January she had been working at Sheetz in Circleville, Ohio, for a month when she was summoned into the manager’s office and placed on leave for breaking a company policy that forbid ‘obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth.’

‘When they hired me they knew that I had dental work that needed to be done,’ she said on Tuesday. ‘Despite that, a month later when I went to go get the dental work done and explained why I needed to have it done, because of a domestic situation that had happened years prior, they would not allow me to take the time.’

‘They said it went against all the rules of the ‘beautiful smile’ policy which stated that you had 90 days, if you had anything wrong with your teeth, to have them fixed,’ Counts said.

Rubinshtein runs the Bensonhurst Dental Clinic southwest Brooklyn. He has an Instagram following of more than 400,000 people

Rubinshtein runs the Bensonhurst Dental Clinic southwest Brooklyn. He has an Instagram following of more than 400,000 people

Counts was a victim of domestic violence and headbutted in the mouth by her ex-husband for leaving a hallway light on, causing her to lose her front teeth

Counts was a victim of domestic violence and headbutted in the mouth by her ex-husband for leaving a hallway light on, causing her to lose her front teeth

Rubinshtein (pictured on the left) was quick to offer Counts help with her teeth when her story gained traction. 'We're here to change her smile and change her life,' he said

Rubinshtein (pictured on the left) was quick to offer Counts help with her teeth when her story gained traction. ‘We’re here to change her smile and change her life,’ he said

Doctors covered by her health insurance were not willing to provide a temporary denture and said fixing her teeth could take as long as nine months as she would need to wait for swelling to subside and then get a proper denture fitting. 

‘I decided to walk away from the job because my insurance would have been at least nine months,’ she said. ‘That wasn’t acceptable to them.’

She added: ‘The manager even told me that I was a wonderful employee, that the customers had said I was a wonderful worker.

‘But I told her being wonderful wasn’t good enough because of my smile, that they shouldn’t get to define what beauty is. So I walked away from the job and I told her its not a place with the morals and values I wanted.’ 

Sheetz, based in Pennsylvania, has about 650 locations and has since said it has revised its policy regarding smiles

Sheetz, based in Pennsylvania, has about 650 locations and has since said it has revised its policy regarding smiles

Pictured, the Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 1395 S Court St. in Circleville, Ohio

Pictured, the Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 1395 S Court St. in Circleville, Ohio

Sheetz, based in Pennsylvania, has about 650 locations and said last month it was reviewing its unusual policy which states: ‘applicants with obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability) are not qualified for employment with Sheetz.’

In the company handbook, Sheetz appearance policy dictates: ‘The timeframe for resolving issues such as this should not typically exceed 90 days. In the event a current employee develops a dental problem that would limit their ability to display a pleasant, full, and complete smile, we cannot permit this situation to go on indefinitely.’

‘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,’ the company explains. 

Counts also secretly recorded a conversation in which she tells her employer she could no longer work for the company. It starts with the manager appearing to show some understanding of her position.

‘If you can type out a letter – a written plan in detail including a time, duration and cost to get it fixed. I know you said you were going to get some work done,’ the manager asks.

‘I had my top ones done and my appointment for my bottom ones is later this month. My insurance will not pay for me to have temporary teeth so it will be three months for the swelling to go down and then they’ll make them which can take up to six months,’ Counts explained.

‘So nine months total?’ the manager replied. ‘So if you can, and I appreciate you being understanding…’

Travis Sheetz, President & CEO of the Sheetz chain of gas stations and convenience stores has said the company's policy is to change

Travis Sheetz, President & CEO of the Sheetz chain of gas stations and convenience stores has said the company’s policy is to change

Counts said that she was obliged to step away from her job because the morals and values of the company were not aligned with what she expected from her employer

Counts said that she was obliged to step away from her job because the morals and values of the company were not aligned with what she expected from her employer

‘I was hired this way,’ Counts interjects. ‘I feel like I will seek other employment because if my job performance is not enough and it’s based on part of my looks it’s not a company I want to be associated with. 

‘This company has no idea what I’ve been through. I lost my front teeth because my ex-husband head butted me because I forgot to turn the hall light out. So it’s not like I was a drug user and things happened that way. It was legit,’ she continues.

‘But I feel like my job performance alone should be enough. I don’t feel like I should have to justify myself because of my looks. I am not a materialistic person. I am very nice to the customers,’ Counts said.

‘And I have heard wonderful things about you,’ her manager responded in the recording.

On Facebook, Counts went into greater detail about the conversation with the manager. 

‘I was asked to come to the office at work. I was nervous having only been with the company for about a month. When I walked in the office the manager had the company policy pulled up to where it talks about employees appearances,’ she wrote.

‘I was informed that policy states all Sheetz employees must have and remain with a perfect beautiful warm welcoming smile. If you are an employee with this company and you break a tooth you have 90 days to have it fixed,’ she added.

Counts is shown here with her fiancé, Shawn Chapman

Counts is shown here with her fiancé, Shawn Chapman

Counts shared her despair at unfairly losing her job on her Facebook page

Counts shared her despair at unfairly losing her job on her Facebook page

‘Even though I am good at my job I can no longer be a frontline employee with the company because of my smile,’ she wrote. ‘The company defines my smile as unbeautiful because I still have work that needs to be done on them. So I went to work today and I left work today crying.’ 

She added: ‘To get told based on my looks that my job is in jeopardy. And that maybe I should fill out paperwork and maybe the company will help me if I tell them my story. I will not spend one red penny at Sheetz!

‘This is in my opinion one of the biggest forms of discrimination that there can be. Who are they to decide what beauty is? So I leave this job feeling like I’m not good enough again.’ 

Other former workers have also spoken out about the so-called ‘smile policy’.

‘I hate the policy,’ one former employee in North Carolina told Insider. ‘It’s really disgusting and kind of classist, especially when the majority of people you’re employing are going to be lower-income,’ the former employee said.

Following Insider’s questioning about the policy, it appears things are finally under review.

‘The inquiry has prompted a more specific review to ensure our policies are aligned with Sheetz’s commitment to foster a culture of respect,’ Nick Ruffner, a public-relations manager for Sheetz stated.