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This article was published on March 22nd, 2017
A dental nurse who offered a teeth whitening service to clients, which was potentially hazardous to health, has been struck off the dental register.
Teeth whitening is big business now and people are very keen to get that perfect white smile and will pay a lot of money to get it. However, using hydrogen peroxide can be very dangerous and there are legal guidelines as to how much strength should be used inside the mouth on teeth. Dentists will only offer teeth whitening products with 6% hydrogen peroxide but the dental nurse advertised tooth whitening materials with 35% strength on a social network site which is an illegal concentration and can lead to burns on the gums, tongue and mouth and even loss of teeth in extreme cases.
The GDC (General Dental Council) was made aware of the advert and immediately investigated the issue and decided to bring three teeth-whitening related charges against the dental nurse to put before the Professional Conduct Committee.
The dental nurse was found guilty of offering products that were 300 times the legal limit of the recommended strength of hydrogen peroxide. She was then struck of the dental register by the Professional Conduct Committee.
The PCC chairwoman said: “…….. dishonesty and her having acted outside of her scope of practice raise a significant public interest issue.
“Furthermore her willingness to offer tooth whitening materials in illegal strengths of hydrogen peroxide demonstrate that she poses a risk of harm to patients.”
The European Directive states that: “The use of tooth whitening or bleaching products containing more than 0,1 % and up to 6% of hydrogen peroxide present or released from other compounds or mixtures in these products can only be used by a registered dentist or by dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians, on the prescription of a dentist, can carry out tooth whitening as an additional skill. It has also been decided that dental nurses can, as an additional skill, take impressions and make bleaching trays to a dentist’s prescription.”
At Thorneycroft Solicitors we have specialist solicitors who have experience dealing with dental claims if a dentist or dental practitioner has caused you necessary pain and discomfort.
We offer a free initial interview in order to review your specific circumstances and assess the viability of your dental negligence claim.
To speak to one of our specialist team call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 093 2030, or complete our simple enquiry form and we can call you back at a time to suit you.
