The GDC (General Dental Council) figures show a 26% rise in illegal teeth whitening treatments being performed illegally in the UK. Despite the issue being raised in recent years in an effort to curb the problem, the figures show more needs to be done to highlight the facts that teeth whitening should only ever be a treatment that’s performed by a medical professional, i.e a dentist.
Illegal and legal in-practice teeth whitening: the differences
Educating the public about exactly why illegal teeth whitening is unsafe is clearly something that needs more attention; hopefully we can shed a little light here….
When you have teeth whitening treatment performed in a dental practice, it is always a bespoke treatment. By this, we mean the whitening trays used to apply the peroxide whitening agent are made to measure. By contrast, those used by individuals performing teeth whitening illegally are one-size-fits-all versions and these individuals don’t possess the technology or equipment to create them to be a custom fit. The problem with the latter is that with a whitening tray that doesn’t fit your mouth, you’re at risk of the whitening agent coming into contact with your gums, because the trays may be too small for the way your teeth sit in your mouth. Should the whitening agent come into contact with your gums, you are at risk of blisters, burns and in some cases, irreversible damage. What’s more, when carried out illegally, the peroxide level in the whitening agent can often by above the legal limit, which can have catastrophic effects. One undercover report by the BBC secretly filmed a lady carrying out the procedure illegally and using an agent with 25% peroxide levels – the legal limit is 6%. Please approach a reputable dental practice, such as Corner House, for cosmetic dental treatment.