Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

brook2jack

Quite the law which nominates the gdc as the organisation charged with protecting the public which is its prime statutory duty enshrined in law. Any legal challenge to the GDC which says it is negligent in protecting the public by putting commercial interests of dentists first would be a breach of this statutory duty which would require parliament to review the dentists act and the powers that gave the GDC.

Indeed this is why the chair and at least 50% of the GDC are not dentists or dental professionals.

It is also why after hundreds of complaints etc the GDC is protecting the public by prosecuting people illegally carrying out dentistry by assessing and carrying out tooth whitening.

Trading standards have already jailed one seller of illegal whitening products and have prosecuted many others doing their bit to protect the public.

However claiming whitening is safe and legal for non dentists to prescribe and do is not protecting anyone other than those who sell the training and products to the gullible.

Teethwhiteninguk

Transmission of Hep A, B & C is not a risk.

As a newbie I am not allowed to post the relevant links.

Hepatitis C which is the most common virus is usually transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. One common route is through sharing needles when injecting recreational drugs - nearly 40 per cent of intravenous drug users have the infection and around 35 per cent of people with the virus will have contracted it this way.

Similarly, having a tattoo or body piercing with equipment that has not been properly sterilised can lead to infection.

Teethwhiteninguk

brook2jack wrote: »

Quite the law which nominates the gdc as the organisation charged with protecting the public which is its prime statutory duty enshrined in law. Any legal challenge to the GDC which says it is negligent in protecting the public by putting commercial interests of dentists first would be a breach of this statutory duty which would require parliament to review the dentists act and the powers that gave the GDC.

Indeed this is why the chair and at least 50% of the GDC are not dentists or dental professionals.

It is also why after hundreds of complaints etc the GDC is protecting the public by prosecuting people illegally carrying out dentistry by assessing and carrying out tooth whitening.

Trading standards have already jailed one seller of illegal whitening products and have prosecuted many others doing their bit to protect the public.

However claiming whitening is safe and legal for non dentists to prescribe and do is not protecting anyone other than those who sell the training and products to the gullible.

Once again, you are stating the obvious and I do not disagree.

There illegal non-dentist and illegal dentists.

Teethwhiteninguk

The law protects all of us, non-dentists, dentists and the public.

That is the beauty of the law and why it is so interesting.

Teethwhiteninguk

Non-Dentist should not be prescribing. This is breaking the law.

brook2jack

Teethwhiteninguk wrote: »

EU and UK cosmetic law is far more stringent than in the USA and Australia. No one should be harmed if safe products are used relevant to the industry they operate.

Non-dentists cannot breach the Dentist Act if they follow the correct protocols.

Consumers cannot be harmed if the correct hygiene protocols are followed either. If the client is not being touched and is self administering it is impossible to transmit any diseases.

If someone has active TB all they need to do is laugh or cough and the infection is transmitted to everyone in the vicinity including the dental waiting room.

TB is primarily an airborne disease. The bacteria are spread from person to person in tiny microscopic droplets when a TB sufferer coughs, sneezes, speaks, sings, or laughs. Only people with active TB can spread the disease to others.

I am a bit puzzled here as to the mention of tb, but of course all clinical personally in dental surgeries must have all immunizations including TB. They must have blood tests to prove they are immune and are not allowed by law to work if they are carriers of certain diseases.
All practices are inspected by many different organisations to ensure sterilisation and cross infection controls are maintained.

Every dental professional has to undergo so many hours of continuing education , every cycle, in cross infection control.

Every practice must have sterilisation areas , and all the sterilisation equipment.

All practices have to have clinical waste disposed of by a contractor who specialises in medical waste .

Any dental personnel who are discovered not to be carrying out cross infection control on any of the numerous inspections will be struck off and never allowed to work again.

Every practice will have a policy on e.g. not treating people with active cold sores , or people whose medical histories indicate certain procedures such as tooth whitening present a danger to their oral or general health.

All of this is inspected, regulated by law and enforced.

On the other hand illegal whiteners have what to legally regulate them and protect the public?

brook2jack

Teethwhiteninguk wrote: »

Non-Dentist should not be prescribing. This is breaking the law.

Quite so. You cannot put a chemical inside someone's mouth without assessing it is safe to do it. That is prescribing.

brook2jack

Teethwhiteninguk wrote: »

Transmission of Hep A, B & C is not a risk.

As a newbie I am not allowed to post the relevant links.

Hepatitis C which is the most common virus is usually transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. One common route is through sharing needles when injecting recreational drugs - nearly 40 per cent of intravenous drug users have the infection and around 35 per cent of people with the virus will have contracted it this way.

Similarly, having a tattoo or body piercing with equipment that has not been properly sterilised can lead to infection.

This is not only wrong but utterly dangerous nonsense. Hep b can be transmitted through saliva.Most particularly saliva in a fine aerosol hitting the eyes, but any small cut will allow it access. It will live on surfaces for quite some time. So a contaminated instrument put in someone's mouth who has e.g. bleeding gums means it could easily be transmitted. It is 100,000 Times more infectious than HIV .

Hep A faeco oral route (bad hand washing). So touching a contaminated surface or equipment and touching something that goes in someone's mouth will pass it on.

This is a prime example of the ignorance of basic infectious hazards and cross infection risks that puts the public at risk. Unbelievable, I sincerely hope you are not involved in tooth whitening as your lack of knowledge is dangerous.

Toothsmith

Do you know much about the Dentist Act?

Do you know the definition of 'dentistry' within it?

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/24/section/37

Or the prohibition of laymen practicing dentistry

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/24/section/38

So, in a nutshell, the dentist act states that 'dentistry' is doing things that dentists normally do, and that non-dentists mustn't do things that dentists normally do!

That is why piercers get away with doing tongue and lip piercings. Even though they're in the mouth, they're not doing things that dentists normally do!

But there is nothing in the dentists act about chemicals and limits. Assessing someone for tooth whitening is

...the giving of any such treatment, advice or attendance as is usually performed or given by dentists;

Never mind actually getting on and doing it.

Anyone wondering about the harm illegal whiteners are doing out there should have a look at this gallery. Some of these photos are actually on the websites of illegal whiteners actually PROMOTING their services!

They don't even realize they've harmed the clients, or provided totally inappropriate treatments!

http://m.facebook.com/StampOutIllegalToothWhitening?id=592837014076636&_rdr#!/media/set/?set=a.598720986821572.150319.592837014076636&type=1&__user=761319615

Teethwhiteninguk

Yes you are correct.

But you cannot be practicing dentistry if the client self administers and determines their own suitability. In the same when they purchase a product form a chemist.

I am still curious about the tooth brushing argument. Anyone (non-dentist) who cleans or helps whiten someone else's teeth using a brush and whitening toothpaste for example, are they practicing dentistry? Dentists clean and whiten teeth.

Do they have to be assessed for hygiene regulations too?

EU law and TS view:

Anyone who sells, or offers, teeth whitening products to consumers, either in a shop, online or as a treatment at your beauty salon/dental surgery.

There is no distinction between products bought by consumers and self applied and those applied during a course of treatment by a professional.

Cosmetic Product?
Defined by The Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2008 as referring to

six functions: -
• To clean
• To perfume
• To change the appearance
• To protect
• To keep in good condition
• To correct body odours

The field of application is to:
• The hair system
• The lips
• The nails
• The epidermis
• The external genital organs
• The teeth

You cannot pass on diseases via saliva or blood contact if you do not come in contact with a person.

You cannot harm the public with products that have been determined safe by the EU to use unsupervised.

I do agree with many of the arguments posted above by you and others above. People who are harming others etc. need to be stopped. This includes dentists, doctors hairdressers and beauticians who carry out very intimate and invasive procedures etc.

I am trying to look at this from outside the arena and how the man in the street or the legal profession might think using common sense as well as application of the law.

I am all for helping and protecting the public, this what I do for a living and free of charge in my spare time. The mud throwing by the dentists at the who non dental teeth community industry may be seen as harassment or protectionism by the public.

It is the same as saying all dentists are rubbish, arrogant and money grabbing, which is rubbish. Some dentists harm and defraud their patients, do not have insurance and use illegal products - but this does not stop us trying to find the good ones.

I note the non dental community have withdrawn their counter Facebook page. I am assuming they no longer wish to be part of the slanging match. I think this is the right thing to do.

I am shocked and surprised at some of the comments made on the other page. Some are modest and fair comment, but many are not.

I do not want to by party to any aggressive arguments either. I am simply interested, because of what I do.