BBC not GDC Protects Patients From Illegal Dentistry
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- Published: Thursday, 30 October 2025 09:39
- Written by Peter Ingle
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At one time the GDC explained their purpose in eight words: Protecting the public and regulating the dental profession. Protecting the public has never been just about regulating dental professionals, there has always been the matter of preventing illegal practice.
The GDC’s failure with Smile Direct Club left many members of the public damaged both dentally and financially. Now it has fallen on the BBC to highlight another gap in the protection available to the British public.
It is the BBC rather than the GDC that has researched and revealed the scale of illegal tooth whitening. In its investigation a BBC North West reporter was able to obtain a fraudulent tooth whitening “qualification,” was given “extreme” whitening gel, and encouraged to practice his new skills on friends and family.
Along the way the investigation uncovered ultra-strength gels that can burn soft tissues and damage teeth, being handed over in car parks and on doorsteps. Gels, including some containing more than 500 times the legal limit of bleaching agent for over-the-counter products, are sold blatantly on social media. Amongst the products sold to undercover BBC reporters, laboratory tests showed hydrogen peroxide levels of up to 53%.
The story of one member of the public’s experience of illegal whitening involved the loss of four teeth following a treatment at a beauty salon. She had experienced agonising pain and it had taken years and tens of thousands of pounds to repair some of the damage done by the illegally provided hydrogen peroxide. Looking back, she commented "I just don’t think there’s enough knowledge about this. You go on social media and see so many offers."
The BBC investigation began after the team was contacted by a beautician concerned about how widespread the use of illegal treatments was in the region. It did not take long to uncover evidence of kits containing levels of chemicals far beyond the legal limits, being advertised and sold online by other beauticians in the Manchester and Merseyside areas.
While some members of the public may not be aware of the illegality of what is going on, those selling the products know that they are breaking the law.
One company offered a £300 package including an online training course and a kit containing "high" and "extreme" hydrogen peroxide gels, described as up to 35% and up to 53% in strength. The company owner directed the BBC’s reporter to meet her in the car park of a retirement home to collect the kit. Before the meeting, the owner messaged the reporter: "Are you aware the rules have changed who can whiten teeth? In 2012 it changed from anyone to dentist only… however as you will be aware everyone’s still doing it anyway."
Indeed the company boss said the rule change "doesn’t make a difference, to be honest". The training was delivered by a series of WhatsApp messages. As evidence of the scale of such illegal practice, the company owner offered to put the reporter in touch with a gel manufacturer to brand their own teeth-whitening products. “It’s really cheap to do and the profit is insane," she said.
What has the GDC been doing? The last successful prosecution brought by the GDC was in October 2021. This is a result of the GDCs decision to rely upon consumers coming forward before taking any action, or as a spokesperson phrased it: "The GDC’s investigations are reactive, rather than proactive, in line with our statutory remit and objectives." The regulator said in recent years the focus has been on "education, engagement and encouraging compliance in the first instance".
In a statement The British Dental Association said it was “appalled but not surprised” by the results of the BBC investigation.
Commenting, Eddie Crouch, Chair of the BDA, said: “The risk must seem worth the reward to these fraudsters. We urge people not to gamble with their oral health, and the government to organise a crack-down on these dangerous practices and mis-selling as an urgent priority."
The GDC have taken a very different approach to other forms of illegal practice where they have been very proactive, whatever their “statutory remit and objectives.” Undercover investigators and entrapment tactics have been used by the GDC to try and catch out registrants working beyond their scope of practice.
The GDC has consistently sought to find more work outside its core remit. Workforce data collection, and its efforts to become a player in the business of reducing inequalities and reshaping dental public health, appear to have been taken on at the expense of the public protection role.
There are other bodies that are better placed to collect workforce data and with more expertise in dental public health and reducing inequalities. If the GDC is giving up protecting the public just what purpose does it serve?
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