Can I carry out tooth-whitening if I’m not a dentist?

The ever-growing demand for cosmetic dental procedures has made treatments such as tooth-whitening a lucrative new revenue stream for dentists and dental surgeries.

Such is the relative simplicity of administering such a treatment, and I say simple in comparison to tooth extraction, orthodontics and root canal surgery, that other businesses have tried to encroach on this area.

But salon owners, spa managers and beauty therapists beware. The UK regulator of dental practice, the General Dental Council (GDC), is now paying more scrutiny to those offering tooth-whitening and we are seeing the first prosecutions for ‘unlawfully practising dentistry’.

In accordance with the law (the Dentists Act 1984) tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry, so it must only be carried out by registered (and hence qualified) dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians (working to the prescription of a dentist).

I was recently involved in defending a client who was being prosecuted by the General Dental Council for unlawfully practising dentistry by carrying out teeth-whitening at her salon. This was one of only four similar GDC prosecutions across the country.

Through a guilty plea and mitigation we were able to secure a conditional discharge for our client, which meant they escaped any serious punishment, other than having to pay the prosecution’s costs.

The growing popularity of teeth-whitening means we are likely to see more GDC prosecutions for this offence in the near future.

Those offering such services need to protect themselves by ensuring the procedure is only carried out by a registered dentist, dental hygienist, dental therapist or clinical dental technician (working to the prescription of a dentist).

For more information on this matter, or any other regulatory legal issue, please contact David Edwards on 01772 258321