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Beware of illegal teeth whitening

This article was published on April 21st, 2016

Teeth whitening is all the rage at the moment with people wanting to copy the pristine white smile of the celebrities they admire on television. Advances in dental technology has meant that it can now be done relatively cheaply compared to a few years ago, when you were looking at many hundreds of pounds for perfect white teeth. The popularity in teeth whitening has caused a worrying number of unscrupulous people setting themselves up as cosmetic teeth whiteners which has meant that people have experienced serious long term problems to their teeth and gums after they had their teeth whitened cheaply and illegally.

The whitening process involves some fairly dangerous substances (bleach) therefore it is essential that it is carried out by someone who is trained and knows what they are doing. At present the cosmetic industry is so unregulated and some patients have had burns to gums, blistered lips and even a trip to A&E after swallowing bleach as a result of going to an illegal practitioner.

The GDC (General Dental Council) aim to clamp down on the illegal clinics that offer cheap cosmetic dental procedures like teeth whitening treatments and are now prosecuting unregistered dental workers. One individual, who had set up a clinic without the necessary registration or qualifications to practice was prosecuted for practising dentistry, namely teeth whitening, contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984. Th business owner had to disband the business and was fined £1,750 and ordered to pay GDC costs of £2,500, as well as a £200 victim surcharge by a magistrate’s court after carrying out teeth whitening illegally

A spokesperson for the GDC said: “……. is not a dental nurse and she has never been registered with the GDC.

“Only GDC registered dental professionals are legally allowed to practise dentistry in the UK, so the prosecution has not resulted in her being banned from practising dentistry — she was never allowed to do this in the first place.

“We were alerted to this case following a referral from Trading Standards in Salford, following which our investigators and solicitors investigated and gathered evidence.”

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.

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Beware of illegal teeth whitening

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