BSPD welcomes change in GDC guidance
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- Published: Monday, 14 July 2014 07:45
- Written by News Editor
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After 18 months of lobbying, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry and other senior UK dentists have achieved a change in the regulations governing tooth whitening in patients under 18. This month the General Dental Council (GDC) amended its guidance to allow dentists to give patients with discolored teeth the treatment they need.
The wording of the GDC’s position statement has been qualified in relation to patients under 18 so that whitening is still not allowed for purely cosmetic reasons, but is now permissible ‘where such use is intended wholly for the purpose of treating or preventing disease.’ After the laws on whitening changed from October 2012 following the introduction of a new EU Cosmetic Directive (2), dentists were able to whiten the teeth of adult patients with a concentration of hydrogen peroxide of up to 6%. But at the same time, the GDC’s interpretation of the European directive meant patients under 18 could not have their teeth bleached with a concentration above 0.1%, a level below which treatment is not effective. Since then, the BSPD, the organisation of specialised dental professionals dedicated to improving the oral health of children in the UK, has been campaigning for the regulations to be changed.
Claire Stevens, media spokesperson for the BSPD and Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, said: “Hundreds of children in the UK have been denied tooth whitening in the last 18 months as a result of this restriction, although there was no evidence to suggest that the procedure was unsafe in any way. We are grateful to many people for their support with our lobbying, particularly Kathy Harley, Dean of the Faculty of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and one of our members, who has been instrumental in achieving the change.”
Claire added: “BSPD is delighted that the GDC has changed its guidance to allow us to treat our young patients effectively. These patients are usually teenagers who have either suffered from an accident which has damaged and discoloured their teeth or from a hereditary condition or from staining as a result of medication, all of which makes them self-conscious or vulnerable to bullying. We are delighted that we can now treat them without fear of disciplinary action.”
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