Teeth Whitening Technicians Sued
May 4th, 2011The General Dental Council (GDC) has successfully sued the first therapist for undertaking teeth whitening without a registration with their professional body. Warrington based Paul Hill pled guilty to the charges of illegally practicing dentistry in 2010 and 2011. A total of £13,030 was ordered to be paid by Mr Hill and his company.
It is a criminal offence for anyone who is not a dentist to carry out or consider undertaking a dental procedure under the Dentists Act 1984, this includes teeth whitening. The GDC state that any procedure that aims to improve the overall look of the teeth is a dental procedure and have completed the first test case in this matter with a further 3 cases appearing in court this month.
This is a cause for concern as the amount of people undertaking teeth whitening who do not have the qualifications necessary for registration with the GDC has risen tenfold. A teeth whitening technician does not have the knowledge or experience to be able to carry out the procedure safely and as it is illegal for them to offer this treatment any insurance they have will become null and void. When insurance becomes invalid the client would have to instigate a private law suit against the therapist.
To clarify; only a registered dentist, or dental hygienist or dental therapist under supervision of a registered dentist can carry out teeth whitening treatments. This makes it clear that if you are not a dentist and you carry out teeth whitening you are breaking the law.
