Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

welshdent

:-)

Getting there slowly! Jasper wadr have a nose back at some of your posts ;-)

All any of us have tried to do is point out to you the legalities of your friends acts

jasperconran

I'm not saying I agree welsh dent. With regards to what she is doing, I still dont see the issue. However I'm just worried for her, dont want to see her out of pocket

welshdent

jasper from my perspective I feel you have been hostile and patronising right from the off. You seem to have had your mind made up and taken the attitude all we want to do is protect our own income streams so we are bound to be biased. Well If that IS your view then you could not be more wrong. You laughed at the suggestion I do very little tooth whitening yet if you were to look at my daily list I actually do general dentistry on a day to day basis. I have provided tooth whitening to 3 people in the last 3 months and one was for my best mates now wife as a wedding present! I couldnt care less about income stream for me as It barely registers on my scale! What I DO care about is potential damage to peoples wallets and more importantly peoples teeth. Seeing as the only people capable of fixing any damage are dentists I do believe that the best people to do whitening are those that can best advise on what is best for the individual (if its best at all) and the people that can fix any unintended consequences. I also believe the only thing a light/led/laser is any good for in whitening is extracting more money from peoples wallets.

Now you will notice that I have not mentioned a great deal of this in any of my posts to you. In fact I am not sure I have said it at all. What I have given you is the official line from the dentists act and by direct consequence the governing body. I have very little positive to say about the GDC. I think the whole organisation is corrupt to the core and needs a serious overhaul.... but their role is to protect the public. they have decreed that tooth whitening be it for cosmetic purposes or legitimate is the practice of dentistry and as such only registered professionals should be doing it. That is their position and maybe they havent done a lot so far but you can bet your last penny they are now! Hence the successful prosecution that has happened and the ones impending.

I do not for a second doubt your friends good intentions. The same can not be said for those that market the products. I have a friend who runs a salon and they were approached by a sales rep for a whitening product who advised that they know their product doesnt work but by selling it at a price under £100 people will have a go just for the chance it MAY work.

So in summary the issue for me is not the legality of the whitening chemical. I have never commented on that although I do have my beliefs on the matter.

The issue for me is squarely the view of the gdc stating whitening is dentistry therefore anyone doing the practice that is NOT a dentist is doing so illegally. That is not an opinion. That is not a view point. That is the stand of the UK dentistry governing body. If she wants to take the chance then go ahead however if she is prosecuted and is fined then you cant say she was not warned. As a good friend I personally think you have a duty to show her the links we have posted. Peoples opinions on the matter are irrelevant to be honest. asking someone random is all well and good but will they take any heat if she is prosecuted?? will the cynical dentist sneering at the gdc saying "they arent interested" be volunteering to pay fines?? Not a chance in hell! And why would they?

The perspective I am portraying is not a trading standards issue it is a medicolegal one so I suggest she contact a solicitor to define where she stands in law and speak to the gdc for an opinion on where they stand. That is the best way to make sure she is not out of pocket.

jasperconran

brook2jack wrote: »

I wish you both luck and hope this thread prevents anyone else getting into the same sort of dire straits both patients who are at risk and people taken in by unscrupulous businesses selling "training" on false premises.

hi brook2jack,

well my friend has been onto both BABTAC and medico legal and has not heard nothing back at all!:eek:

I have to say I am quite shocked! I thought they would want to help, after all, fuss or whoever they are now are bandits are they not?!

not sure where to go from here

bblackcat

Hi all

I am looking to do some teeth whitening at home. Having looked into it, I want to know where I can get the kits from cheaply??

Anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers

welshdent

see your dentist for a custom kit is the best and safest way. "cheap" isnt always cheap plus IIRC most companies have been stopped from selling most kits like this. A stock over the counter kit doesnt work well at all anyway.

brook2jack

It is also illegal to supply in the Uk most whitening kits/products direct to patients. There are many counterfeits and dodgy businesses selling kits and it is easy to have permanent damage done to teeth and gums. Go see a dentist. http://www.guardian.co.uk//money/2010/aug/20/illegal-tooth-whitening-online?mobile-redirect=false

brook2jack

The problem is Fuss have gone into administration so your friend would just be at the end of a very long line of creditors who stand little chance of getting their money back. The new company will have in law no connection to the old even though it's possible many people connected to the old company are connected to the new.

Unfortunately it's an old story people setting up companies selling false promises then shutting up shop owing thousands and leaving many unhappy people behind. Then re opening and doing the same thing again.

It's easy to say in retrospect but your friend is not the only one taken in and you can't over emphasise the importance of research before handing over money. If she had read this thread she wouldn't have parted with the cash.

Toothsmith

brook2jack wrote: »

It's easy to say in retrospect but your friend is not the only one taken in and you can't over emphasise the importance of research before handing over money. If she had read this thread she wouldn't have parted with the cash.

And the SalonGeek threads were from 2007 as well.

bblackcat

I didn't realise it was so dangerous.
I found these: Roots Dental Lab on ebay and I was going to go for it - seems really reasonable. Just needed to buy the whitening then.