Mail on Sunday exposes teeth whitening scandal
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- Published: Friday, 17 August 2018 09:13
- Written by News Editor
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An investigation by journalist, Eve Simmons, has found widespread illegal practice at the beauty therapy chain, Essex Smiles, who are offering ’teeth-whitening’ products for self-administration. The company, however, claims they do not offer in-store teeth-whitening, just place to do it. When the journalist said she was nervous, blaming a childhood fear of the dentist, she was told ‘Don’t worry, we’re not dentists.’
The journalist described at visit to a ‘studio’ near Chingford (Essex) Station, which wasn’t where she expected to find a clinic promising a gleaming ‘Hollywood smile’ makeover. According to the Essex Smiles website, this was one of 18 ‘studios’ across the South East offering teeth whitening – costing from £50 – and DIY kits endorsed on social media by a host of actors, actresses and reality TV stars.
The company had come under fire after the owner of their Northampton branch was prosecuted and fined £4,500 by the GDC for offering illegal whitening in March of this year Photographs available on Essex Smiles’ Facebook page show people having what seems to be a whitening procedure. A device on a bendable arm shines blue UV light into the mouth. Appointments are also advertised on Facebook.
When the journalist approached the company’s head office, telling them she worked for The Mail on Sunday, they denied offering treatment and claimed they only sold products – which legally they are allowed to do. Their spokesman said: ‘None of our shops have dentist chairs [and it is] wholly false... to suggest that we are in some way undertaking illegal dentistry practice.’ In recent years, peroxide-free DIY whitening kits, containing ‘naturally brightening’ ingredients have proved popular on social media, with celebrities such as Kylie Jenner endorsing companies claiming to make teeth eight shades whiter without chemicals.
Commenting on the article, Professor Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association, said: ‘Many of these firms are peddling snake oil. It doesn’t matter how much they dress it up in pseudo-science, they can’t deliver the pearly whites they promise.’
Essex Smiles told the MoS that they merely provided safe teeth-whitening products for customers to self-administer and a place to do it in. Their staff, they said, did not offer customers in-store teeth whitening and instructions were limited to how to use their products. In a statement the company said: ‘Essex Smiles provides shops around the country that sell tried and tested teeth-whitening products approved by Trading Standards.’
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