mall whitening

[Dr.Jamie]

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I am a dental assisting instructor (also a predental student) and one of my students told me that at the mall they have people performing whitening procedures in a kiosk type set up with dental chairs. She said they charge $100 dollars. I found that interesting, so when I was there today I i inquired about it. I approached the chairs and asked a man dressed in scrubs some questions. Neither of the two working there are dentists, but they are dental lab techs. Well, my dad is a dental lab tech, so i'm familiar with what they do. I asked what kind of light they used, because I've seen zoom whitening done before. They told me they use LED lights. When I asked why they don't need a dentist there, they said it was because they aren't actually touching the teeth. That just seemed odd to me.
So, you don't have to be a dentist to perform that kind of whitening? What are the limitations on these procedures? Any input?

 

[Hysteria24]

There was some talk of this on another recent thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=511726

However, I don't think it answers all of your questions.

 

[Dr.Jamie]

interesting. I wonder if its the same company. the guy i talked to there said the tech working with him owned the company.

 

[desert rat]

I actually like the idea of these whitening centers. They do a limited although por service for patients. You can get whitening on cruiz ships as well.

Many patients after whitening start wanting to take care of their teeth and seek us dentists out for further eval and TX. There are also patients that bleaching does not work due to caries, or tarter etc.

Bleaching is such a small market in dentistry that it does not hurt us. Bleaching really does not harm the patients either. The mall whitening is still better than light night TV sales, or crest strips.

 

[jmill0]

In Tennessee, any sort of whitening product that is not available for purchase over the counter must be distributed by a licensed dentist. There is a whitening place in one of the malls that has been investigated by the state dental board. From what I understand, the case has been forwarded to the State Attorney's Office for further investigation. The one here is owned by a hygienist and another guy not even involved in dentistry.

I doubt this will have a good outcome for the hygienist and possibly her license.....

JKM

 

[dheav005]

i saw one of these set-ups when i was home in Knoxville over Christmas. my dad (also a dentist) had already scoped them out and inquired about the rules governing the 'whitening center'. apparently, the worker bees only hand the glasses, bleaching gel, and light to the customer (not patient). the customer themselves, after instruction, are the ones who apply the material and engage in the bleaching process. this sidesteps the workers being labeled as providers as well as mitigating liability, as the people are doing it to themselves after being informed of the process.

my dad was perturbed enough to contact the local dental society, who were already well aware and making motions to curtail the activity.

i have recently seen similar gazebos at a couple of the malls here in Virginia.

 

[pmantz]

Who cares? Really its not like there doing root canals in the middle of the mall. It doesn't really have any lasting effect. When the customer rellizes its worthless they will go buy OTC white strips or visit their dentist.

 

[MaseratiGT]

I actually had this done.

The guy never touches you. He hands you all of the stuff and you fill your little tray with the gel.

It actually doesn't work. I only needed 1 or 2 shades lighter. They came out white, but I've had better results from Crest WhiteStrips.

Hell, I would probably have had better results from chewing on a piece of bark!

 

[Dr.Jamie]

I actually had this done.

The guy never touches you. He hands you all of the stuff and you fill your little tray with the gel.

It actually doesn't work. I only needed 1 or 2 shades lighter. They came out white, but I've had better results from Crest WhiteStrips.

Hell, I would probably have had better results from chewing on a piece of bark!

I figured it wouldn't work, but its pretty crappy that these people are paying 100 bucks for something that is worthless.

Anway, thanks for the input. I was just curious if it was a total scam, or legit. I had zoom whitening done and it was good, but I had a lot of sensitivity afterwards. The whitening they were using must have been a much different procedure.

 

[adr12]

Some of the whitening (and sensitivity) from Zoom could be from dessication of the teeth after using that light. Not to mention that there's little scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of the light activation used in the procedure. I recall a study (sorry can't remember name) that got similar results using the system with and without the light.

 

[Dr.Jamie]

Some of the whitening (and sensitivity) from Zoom could be from dessication of the teeth after using that light. Not to mention that there's little scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of the light activation used in the procedure. I recall a study (sorry can't remember name) that got similar results using the system with and without the light.

interesting. so the LED lights that these people were using may not cause the same degree of dessication? I would think maybe that is the main difference in the procedure.

 

[lugrest]

What an embarrassment to the field of dentistry...

 

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Hello SDNers,

Yes I was walking through the mall one day and I saw people dressing like medical professionals advertising and providing teeth bleaching right out in the open! I first thought they were selling cosmetic products until I saw a person in a dental chair. I was shocked to see dentistry in such a setting. I have no problems if they sell teeth whitening products but dressing up in white lab coats/scrubs and tending to their "patients" in the open is pretty disheartening. This type of destructive behavior is making dental treatment like something that you can buy at a booth. In simple words it makes dentistry, dentists and the profession look cheap in the public eye. Considering how difficult it is to gain admission and the gruelling training that one must have to be a dentist (and more as specialists), it was a slap in the face to us all. DP

 

[SunnyState]

I am a dental assisting instructor (also a predental student) and one of my students told me that at the mall they have people performing whitening procedures in a kiosk type set up with dental chairs. She said they charge $100 dollars. I found that interesting, so when I was there today I i inquired about it. I approached the chairs and asked a man dressed in scrubs some questions. Neither of the two working there are dentists, but they are dental lab techs. Well, my dad is a dental lab tech, so i'm familiar with what they do. I asked what kind of light they used, because I've seen zoom whitening done before. They told me they use LED lights. When I asked why they don't need a dentist there, they said it was because they aren't actually touching the teeth. That just seemed odd to me.
So, you don't have to be a dentist to perform that kind of whitening? What are the limitations on these procedures? Any input?

These business people know the laws and how to get around them. They actually do not touch the clients/buyers. They provide materials and instruct the buyers to put them on themselves. It is degrading to the dental profession but technically they are not breaking the laws by selling their whitening products... except for false advertising if the product doesn't work as they claim to.