Going Too Far?

[DrAngie]

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So my classmate and I are walking through the mall one Saturday afternoon. As most of you have probably observed there are usually several "sidewalk" vendors/services offered (i.e. massages, hand lotions, cell phone covers, etc) in the walkway of the mall. Well, we came across a vendor that offered tooth whitening...right there in the middle of the mall!! Now, there are two or three malls in the area that happen to have an actual dentist office in the mall...but it is an actual office with doors and a waiting room, just happens to be in the mall. We observed this lady out in the open, sitting in a chair with the shades on and the light in her mouth....no divider, no privacy, don't even know if it were an actual dentist performing the service or there on site. No, it's not a filling or RCT but come on. What do you all think of this...is this going a bit far?

 

[aphistis]

So my classmate and I are walking through the mall one Saturday afternoon. As most of you have probably observed there are usually several "sidewalk" vendors/services offered (i.e. massages, hand lotions, cell phone covers, etc) in the walkway of the mall. Well, we came across a vendor that offered tooth whitening...right there in the middle of the mall!! Now, there are two or three malls in the area that happen to have an actual dentist office in the mall...but it is an actual office with doors and a waiting room, just happens to be in the mall. We observed this lady out in the open, sitting in a chair with the shades on and the light in her mouth....no divider, no privacy, don't even know if it were an actual dentist performing the service or there on site. No, it's not a filling or RCT but come on. What do you all think of this...is this going a bit far?

Source: Tennessee Dental Practice Act

They're tiptoeing around the law, which doesn't explicitly say anything about professional whitening procedures, and there isn't any cutting or anesthetic involved. If it concerns you, you should report them to the state dental board and let them take it from there.

 

[La Dentista]

This is currently happening in two different sections of my nearby mall. The funny thing is, around last christmas, there was a crowd of people gathered around this little stall while the two "wanna-be dentists" talked about the procedure. My first thing was to look at their teeth when they talked -- they weren't white and one of them even had yellowish-tinted teeth, not to mention it was a few hundred dollars. The second thing was, they both looked in their early 20's.

👎

(EDIT: saying it was a few hundred dollars and they weren't even real dentists is what I meant.)

 

[gryffindor]

I live in Nashville too and saw this at that mall and thought the same thing - especially when there is a full blown dental office a few steps away from the tooth whitening booth! I don't think the booth is associated with the dental office because the office was closed when I was there but the whitening booth was open with no customers.

I think it is a concern because there can be some real complainers who get sensitive after one of these in-office treatment and need a good pain med to get them through it. Then again, maybe they're not using a real strong whitening agent and just coating the teeth with toothpaste and duping the public.