Column GDC guidance with Ian Jackson
Tooth whitening – who can do what?
Ian Jackson, director for Scotland at the General Dental Council, explains the situation
O
ver recent years, we have become aware of the increasing popularity of certain dental procedures – in particular, tooth whit-
ening. Increasingly, these treatments are being carried out in a growing number of salons, clinics and shopping centres by non-GDC registrants. The standard of treatment being offered by non GDC regis- trants regularly falls far below that which is required of our registrants. Sections 37 and 38 of the Dentists
Act 1984 (“the Act”) state that dentistry can only legally be undertaken by GDC registrants; specifically dentists, or hygien- ists or therapists working to a dentist’s prescription. However, several companies which
produce tooth whitening systems maintain that, since tooth whitening products are covered by the European Council Directive on Cosmetic Products 2011/84 EU (“the regulations”), their agents are carrying out a cosmetic procedure and not practising dentistry. This is an incorrect interpreta- tion of the law. The regulations state that tooth whitening
products containing or releasing between 0.1 per cent and 6 per cent hydrogen peroxide should not be made directly avail- able to the consumer, other than through treatment by a registered dentist (or dental hygienist, dental therapist or clinical dental technician working to a dentist’s prescription). Breach of these regulations is
a criminal offence. In addition, it is illegal under these regulations for tooth whitening products which contain more
than 6 per cent hydrogen peroxide, or for any associated products which release greater than 6 per cent hydrogen peroxide, to be supplied or administered for cosmetic purposes. In addition, the Dentists Act 1984 makes
it illegal for anyone who is not a dentist to give “treatment, advice or attendance” that would usually be given by a dentist. We are aware of some individuals handing members of the public a tooth whitening tray and advising them on the application of the product, among other things, while they observe. The GDC is of the view that this would constitute the giving of “advice or attendance” pursuant to section 37 of the Act and would be illegal. Last year, the High Court ruled that tooth
whitening is the practice of dentistry and should only be undertaken by regulated dental professionals. The full details of the case can be found here:
http://bit.ly/ GDChighcourt In the course of any year, the
GDC might receive hundreds of complaints about tooth whitening. However, they are often
not for us to investigate. For example, a member of the public might report someone setting up in a shopping centre, but either tooth whitening has not actually been carried out, or it is being carried out by an appropriate registrant. But the GDC is not idle. We will take
action wherever possible, but cannot do this in every case as we do not have statutory power to walk in to salons, beauty
Scottish Dental magazine 71
parlours or shopping centres, across the United Kingdom, and shut illegal tooth whiteners down. Nevertheless, this year so far we
have successfully prosecuted 11 tooth whitening cases. In addition, we are working in a number
of other ways to try to tackle this issue. For example, the GDC is working with ‘daily deals’ companies such as Groupon and Amazon Local to guard against promotion of illegal tooth whitening. These compa- nies, and a number of others, have given us assurances that they will not offer tooth whitening deals from individuals who are not registered with the GDC. We are also working with some of the
UK’s biggest exhibition venues to try to ensure that they’re also only working with exhibitors who are compliant with the law.
® For further information about tooth whitening, please visit our website at
www.gdc-uk.org/Dentalprofessionals/ Standards/Pages/
Tooth-whitening.aspx
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