Cheap and nasty beauty treatments

The Times newspaper printed an article on Friday February 2nd 2007 entitled “Beauty service with a smile that’s both cheap and nasty” (News p29).

This article is one of many recently that has higlighted the pitfalls of using high street salons to have your teeth whitened.  The cut price treatment on offer at these salons is provided by beauticians or their assistants who often have only a basic NVQ qualification.  The “treatment” usually involves chlorine dioxide, an oxidising agent commonly used in pesticides, the use of which is not currently supported in dentistry. 

The attraction of these treatments is of course cost as they can often be half the price of those provided by dentists.  Unfortunately, as is so often the case, you get what you pay for in life.  If you attend a dentist who you know and trust they can give you expert advise and can provide you with safe, effective treatments that will predictably whiten your teeth.  The true cost of cheap salon whitenings, or even worse home kits bought on the internet, is often not only a dissappointing result, but damaged teeth and extra dental bills to correct the harm they caused.

My advice to anyone wanting to whiten your teeth is to talk to their dentist and stay well away from salons who claim to be offering a cheaper service. Remember, whitening is the cheapest, quickest and safest way to change your smile and it can change your life,but it should only ever be carried out by a dentist.