“What Shade Do You Call That, Corporal?”
- Details
- Published: Tuesday, 01 June 2021 07:47
- Written by Chris Tapper
- Hits: 784
A Royal Army Dental Corps Major has warned military personnel against seeking ‘celebrity smiles.’
The Telegraph reported that the increasing trend for the use of tooth whitening consumer products amongst army personnel, led Dental Officer Major Christoph Harper to issue a warning in a Soldier magazine article.
Major Harper warned troops against trying to attain the ‘unnaturally’ white teeth flaunted by celebs and influencers, due to the potential damage unregulated products can cause to teeth a gums.
Major Harper said “Don’t risk it. Such products may contain illegal unlicensed substances like acids or higher concentration bleaching agents, which greatly increase the risk of irreversible damage to your teeth and mouth.
"Dental bleaching is regulated by UK law and it is illegal for dentists to use bleaching agents containing stronger than six percent hydrogen peroxide,” The Telegraph reported.
A defence insider told The Telegraph that “Some personnel have also enquired as to whether potential treatment would be covered under Defence Primary Healthcare,” according to Danielle Sheridan.
But it was explained that troops will only be treated where tooth discolouration has been caused by trauma, infection or developmental defects and will not be done when there is no clinical need “Or when the staining has been causes by poor levels of oral hygiene or smoking.”
The Defence source told The Telegraph that Major Harper’s article was to educate personnel that if they wanted tooth whitening, they should pursue it outside the military dental service with a registered dentist, and not resort to products available online.
A story in GDPUK revealed recently that the top dental question entered into Google worldwide is “How to whiten teeth?”
You need to be logged in to leave comments.
Report