Beautician in dispute with Megawhite
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- Published: Tuesday, 18 March 2014 07:16
- Written by News Editor
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The Daily Mirror has published a story about beautician Caroline Sumpter who paid Megawhite Express Teeth Whitening £1,500 only to be told by the General Dental Council that the practice is illegal. She paid the money for a package that included everything to get her started in her new business, including a licence to use the Megawhite name.
But the GDC has written to Caroline to say it had ‘received an allegation’ that Caroline was carrying out illegal teeth whitening at her salon. It warned her that the council “brings criminal prosecutions for the illegal practice of dentistry by non-registered companies and individuals”. As well as a criminal record, she could be fined up to £5,000.
Caroline asked Megawhite for her money back, on the grounds “what they don’t tell you is that unless you are a registered dental professional you cannot legally use the system”. The company has refused, claiming that they are doing nothing wrong. Megawhite director Bryan Christie told the paper: “It’s a generic letter, it’s an empty threat. Every one of our licensees has had that letter.”
He claims that his licensees are not performing dentistry they are giving a product to customers who “self-administer” it by putting the whitener in their mouths while sitting in front of a blue light to accelerate the process. He added: “We are not performing teeth whitening, customers are doing it themselves. The General Dental Council is asking you to stop doing something you are not doing.”
The General Dental Council would not comment to the paper on Megawhite specifically, but said it was clear where the law stands. “There is a misconception that offering tooth whitening treatment to individuals by handing them trays for self-administration circumvents the law,” said a spokeswoman. “This is not the case. travelwithgirls.com The Dentists Act makes it illegal for anyone who is not a dentist to give ‘treatment, advice or attendance’ that would usually be given by a dentist. Handing an individual a tooth whitening tray and advising them on its application, amongst other things, could constitute the giving “advice or attendance” and would therefore be illegal.”
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