Whitening fine reduced on appeal but prosecutions continue
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- Published: Thursday, 26 February 2015 07:27
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Wayne Roberts who runs a private medical clinic in Liverpool had his fine of £15,000 reduced by £3,500 on appeal. The owner of a tanning and beauty salon in Hartlepool and another who ran a beauty clinic in Lancashire were both given a conditional discharge, but ordered to pay the GDC’s costs. A mother and son in Essex also received a hefty fine for tooth whitening.
Wayne Roberts was found guilty of two counts of illegal tooth whitening and a charge of falsely claiming to be a dental technician last summer. He was prosecuted by the GDC and fined £5,000 on each count; he was also ordered to pay a £500 victim surcharge and £3,167 costs to the GDC.
However he appealed against the fines and was partially successful, with the sums reduced to £3,000 each. In his appeal he admitted he had broken the law by carrying out tooth whitening despite not being registered with the GDC. He also admitted lying to customers by telling them he personally could whiten their teeth, that he had been doing it for a number of years, and was registered to do so. Roberts went on to tell the court that complaints against him had been made anonymously and suggested a feud with business partners was behind them.
Graeme Pattinson, the owner of Ultimate Tanning and Beauty, pleaded guilty to a charge of offering illegal tooth whitening at Teesside Magistrate’s Court. He admitted offering treatment despite the fact that he has no formal dental qualifications. Mr Pattinson was given a two year condition discharge and ordered to pay £1,000 towards GDC legal costs and a £15 victim surcharge fee. He has since told a local newspaper that the experience had been an absolute nightmare and that he was quitting the beauty business.
Jemma Knox, who carried out an illegal teeth whitening business in Lancashire has been prosecuted by the GDC. She admitted unlawfully holding herself out as being prepared to practise dentistry, namely tooth whitening. She was given an 18-month conditional discharge by the bench. She was also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and full costs to the GDC of £2,271.40.
The head of illegal practice prosecutions at the GDC, Katie Spears, said: “The law is now very clear that tooth whitening can only be carried out by registered dentists, or by dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians working to a dentist’s prescription.
She added: “We are concerned about the risk to the public posed by such potentially hazardous treatment being provided by people without the training and qualifications necessary for registration as a dental professional. We have seen cases of burns to the gums, blistering to the lips and even of someone being hospitalised after swallowing a bleaching agent. We take this issue extremely seriously and will prosecute where possible.”
Finally mother and son, Joanne and Cane Wheatley who claimed to have whitened the teeth of The Only Way is Essex stars were found guilty after trial at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. The case was brought against Cane Wheatley after a video clip was downloaded from the internet on 23 May 2014 which appeared to show him performing teeth whitening. Joanne Wheatley's offence took place at Essex Smiles in Harlow, Essex. She was fined £800, ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge and costs to the GDC of £1200. Cane Wheatley was fined £2000 and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay costs to the GDC of £2600.
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