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Illegal cosmetic dental treatments carried out by untrained staff have been crticised by a dental association.
To the naked eye, 47-year-old Carla Regan’s pearly whites perhaps appear ‘normal’, if not particularly shiny. The untrained may not notice that her lips get stuck to her teeth when she smiles or that they constantly stain. But a leading dentist and Vice-President of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry did notice, and was shocked at the surface harm on the patient’s front eight teeth. The damage had been caused by a recent whitening treatment illegally offered by beauticians (the General Dental Council has determined that only a registered dentist can carry out teeth whitening) aboard a cruise ship, on which Carla had been enjoying a vacation in August this year.
This unfortunate case coincided with the release of a new survey by the BACD and Mintel, which found that only one in four Britons are happy with their teeth, and as many as one in five people in the UK don’t even smile in photos because they’re embarrassed about the state of their gnashers. Findings also revealed that around a quarter of the population have tried some form of cosmetic dentistry, such as whitening treatments, and that people prefer wide, ‘toothy’ grins in females (choosing Kylie Minogue followed closely by Julia Roberts as top celebrity smiles) over more understated looks.
According to Carla, a consultant who works for the oil and gas industry living in Potters Bar, Herts.;
“The beauty salon on the ship was offering teeth whitening and I thought to myself, why not? It seemed like an appropriately indulgent to do on holiday – they promoted it as non-toxic and safe. However, a week later I noticed my teeth were starting to look stained, and with time they only got darker. I also constantly had a ‘dry mouth’ feeling, so I decided to see a dentist to tell me what could be wrong.”
Dr. James Goolnik was immediately able to see that the surface of her teeth had been badly and permanently damaged, which explained Carla’s ‘dry mouth’ feeling as well as the constant staining. He comments;
“Her teeth look like they had been dipped in acid. It may not be immediately visible to the untrained eye, but her front teeth clearly have no surface shine when compared to the rest of her teeth. The damage is permanent and we are currently assessing whether repair will involve more complex cosmetic procedures, such as bonding or porcelain veneers.”
Dr. Goolnik suspects she was treated with a substance that has become popular with beauty salons and non-dentists offering cheap and illegal whitening treatments: chlorine dioxide, a chemical commonly used for disinfecting swimming pools, the use of which leading dental experts cannot find any clinical backing or official trials for. The gel form can be very acidic, even causing the teeth’s top layer to dissolve. Offered by a growing network of franchises around the country, its use has previously caused controversy and problems in other patients including 23-year-old Stephanie Ramezan, whose teeth were also left darkened after a session at a City spa earlier this year.
He went on to say, “A quarter of Britons have had some form of cosmetic dentistry, and whitening is clearly a popular treatment – the rise in these problem cases illustrates why dental care, even purely cosmetic procedures, should only be provided by dentists with the proper training who can offer proven techniques and expertise.”
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