Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

that they expect this number to increase. Quoted on the CODE web- site, Paul Mendlesohn said of the situation: “This messy le- gal situation has been going on for too long, whilst we can understand that it may take years for Europe to sort out its mistake, we can take a simple national action now for a local solution. The national coordinating authority for local authority regulation called LACORS could solve out this problem easily by inform- ing Trading Standards to take low-key approach as they did in 2004 and subsequently withdrew in 2006. “Encouraging LACORS to take action should be our main focus; we must lobby LACORS directly and indirectly. “It is my view that should there be prosecutions, den- tists will stop providing tooth whitening altogether. But the huge patient demand for this effective, minimum inter- vention treatment will open the floodgates to its provision by non-qualified therapists, many of whom will use unsuitable or untested products. “This poses a huge risk to the health of the public, which in turn could bring a substantial cost to the NHS for remedial treatment.” Dental Protection said on the situation: “On the infor- mation currently available to Dental Protection from the members involved, and from our discussions with the dental materials distributors and from discussions it would appear that Trading Standards’ inter- est lies primarily in pursuing supply companies rather than individual registered practi- tioners. “We have also checked the position with the relevant con- tact person within Local Gov- ernment Regulation (formerly “LACORS” the Local Authori- ties Coordinators of Regulatory Services), as part of the Local Government Group, which is the local government central body responsible for oversee- ing local authority regulatory and related services in the UK. “We are assured that the underlying position in terms of the legislation, regulation and co-ordination of the approach to the supply of these products is actually unchanged. “Many dental profession- als have expressed concern about unregistered individu- als providing tooth whitening from unregulated premises. On the 5th May 2011, BBC Break- fast TV and Radio 5 live ran a story highlighting the dangers of seeking tooth whitening treatments from unregistered individuals and reported that the GDC had successfully prosecuted the director of a national chain of tooth whiten- ing salons. ‘‘The Chief Executive and Registrar of the GDC appeared on these programmes and confirmed that in the view of the GDC, tooth whitening amounted to the practise of dentistry. ‘‘In view of the recent pub- licity surrounding the provi- sion of tooth whitening by unregistered individuals it is possible that Trading Stand- ards’ actions are targeted at these individuals and supply companies rather than reg- istered dental professionals, although this remains a matter of conjecture based on recent events.” DT ‘The national coor- dinating authority for local authority regulation called LACORS could solve out this prob- lem easily by in- forming Trading Standards to take low-key approach as they did in 2004 ESTETICA E80 Rise above the rest with KaVo. • Outstanding ergonomics and attractive, highly functional designs. • Innovation at its best. • State of the art technology reliability and functionality at amazingly low prices. From as little as £286* per month excl VAT KaVo Dental Limited · Raans Road, Amersham, Bucks HP6 6JL Tel. 01494 733000 · Fax 01494 431168 · mail: sales@kavo.com · www.kavo.com Contact your local KaVo or Gendex supplier for more details! *Finance is subject to status and for business purposes only. KaVo – Dental Excellence Estetica A4 SELECTED:Layout 1 25/2/09 13:42 Page 1 page 9DTß June 6-12, 201110 News & Opinions United Kingdom Edition