Illegal Whitening & Dental Tourism

At the Yorkshire Dental Suite, we are dental professionals who carry out legal, professional, medical grade tooth whitening and as a professional it astounds me how able and willing the Instagram generation is to put their oral health at risk searching for low cost options to achieve the seemingly ‘perfect smile’.

From tooth whitening to tooth straightening you can find an answer online at a seemingly affordable price and if you have a little more money in the bank then why not hop on a plane and have treatment while you are on holiday?

With the power of digital marketing, it is easy to see why the public feels it is safe to do so. Being misled into thinking that brands and companies are reputable and have a product which is safe for people to use. It is almost creating scepticism about having it done safely and professionally at a UK dental clinic because it is so cheap and easy to get their hands on it online. I would say a huge proportion of dental care practitioners can tell you a horror story or two about dental tourism or illegal tooth whitening. It’s rife, but why?

In this day and age with the ability to research anything we want to know we have access to all sorts of information, therefore effectively making us ‘experts’. We feel like we know everything because access to information about everything is at our fingertips. If we have an ailment we google it, if we have a rash we google it, if we want to find somewhere to eat we google it and if we want whiter teeth we google it. Whilst this is helpful to allow us as a profession to digitally market our safe and legal services, it also allows scam artists with no regard for human health to do the same. Cashing in on a generational desire to improve their smile.

Someone selling illegal dental bleaching products online, enticing someone to fly to another country for treatment, or even giving the false hope that useless ‘whitening product’s’ may whiten teeth, is certainly not trustworthy. The perpetrators will continue to use these avenues to sell and falsely advertise because it is such an influential way to do business.

But we urge you, as an industry, do not put your health and your smile at risk. Always see a registered dental professional so you achieve the healthy smile you deserve. In the UK dental professionals are registered and held accountable for their actions, therefore treatment will be carried out ethically and in your best interest.