Teeth Whitening Services under the Spotlight

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Beauty salons and high street whitening services are under the spotlight after the General Dental Council raised concerns about the safety of services provided by untrained professionals.

According to the GDC, tooth whitening is classified as a dental treatment, which means that it should only be carried out by trained dental professionals; however, a growing number of beauty salons and untrained individuals are offering whitening services. The GDC has called for more stringent regulation to protect members of the public.

Dewsbury dentist Graeme Tattersfield, from Thornhill Dental Practice, said that the issue was difficult because tooth whitening is a dental treatment and therefore it should only be offered by trained dental professionals; however, this is not the case and whitening services are becoming increasingly common. Members of the public may not even be aware that the person offering the treatment is not professionally trained. In some cases, according to Tattersfield, some dentists may offer whitening treatments in shopping centres and on the high street and he says that it is always worth checking that the practitioner is registered with the GDC.

Teeth whitening treatments are generally very safe but they may contribute to problems if the individual has underlying dental health issues and if this is the case, an untrained professional would not be able to spot dental conditions, while a dentist would and therefore would delay the whitening treatment until the condition had been treated.

A survey complied by BBC Radio 5 Live revealed that more than 80 percent of adults who contacted the show believed that whitening procedures should only be practiced by trained dental professionals.

 

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