Make Sure Your Teeth Whitening is Legal
Many people do not realise it is illegal for anyone unregistered as a dentist or hygienist to administer any kind of teeth whitening treatment. However, ignorance of the law will not give anyone an excuse to proceed with this treatment being offered at beauty salons, kiosks and by people working from their own homes.
Why has this been made law?
Well, it’s to try to keep you safe. If you are going to have your teeth whitened, the risk is too great if you have treatment from someone who may genuinely believe they’ve been trained (got the certificate!) when they could also have been misled. There is far more to tooth whitening than first appears. A dentist must examine your mouth to look for any reasons why you are not yet suitable for whitening. There could be a problem which needs to be addressed beforehand, to avoid any damage or pain.
A dentist will take an impression of your teeth so that the trays you have to wear to contain the whitening gel fit snugly around your teeth, protecting your gums and the rest of your mouth from any leakage. The ingredient of the gel is bleach, and we all know what bleach can do if not used properly.
Risks of untrained administration
Any error at all cannot be fixed by a beautician who has undergone a day of online training! Gums can burn and the roots of teeth can be irreparably damaged. Apart from the long term nature of the consequences, the pain could be very severe. If an infection sets in, the suffering will last a long time in the memory – and corrective treatment will draw heavily on your finances.
Who’s affected?
Those receiving the treatment are not the only ones being harmed. Beauty salon owners have been prosecuted and have gone bankrupt because they were gullible enough to believe they were trained and that their certificates were genuine. The result for some of those people has been depression and hardship.
So – please remember that there is a reason that dentists have to undergo years of extensive and intensive training, and why the law helps keep you safe by insisting the professionals are the ones you turn to for that whiter smile.
