YORKSHIRE - A woman suffered terrible pain after receiving an illegal teeth whitening treatment in her living room.
The victim and her partner paid a total of £54 for the one hour procedure, advertised on Facebook by Mobile Teeth Whitening Yorkshire.
The woman suffered almost instant pain and woke the next morning with her mouth full of blisters.
The man who carried out the treatments, James Willis, was practicing illegally as he was not a registered dentist.
Kirklees magistrates today found him guilty of two charges of practicing as an unregistered dentist after he failed to turn up for the hearing in Huddersfield.
Jenny Stewart, prosecuting on behalf of the General Dental Council, explained that only dentists registered with the regulated body can carry out teeth whitening procedures.
She said: “Anybody not registered with the GDC cannot carry out this treatment.
“Mr Willis is not and never has been registered with the GDC.”
She explained that the female victim researched teeth whitening online and came across Mobile Teeth Whitening Yorkshire.
Ms Stewart said: “The Facebook page had 9,000 followers so she thought it was reputable and contacted the owner of that page.
“She said that she and her partner wanted to have their teeth whitened and set up an appointment.”
Wills, 36, visited the couple’s home in Bailiff Bridge, Brighouse, on February 1.
He arrived with two black sports bags containing the teeth whitening equipment and carried out the procedure.
This involved applying hydrogen peroxide to the teeth to remove stains and then blue gel applied using a syringe and then left to harden.
Willis then used a mouth opener as he applied a clear gel to the teeth and placed a UV light close to the couple’s mouths to activate the whitening agent.
Ms Stewart said: “Ten minutes into the treatment she began experiencing shooting pain in her front two teeth.
“He told her that she just had sensitive teeth and would be fine in a day or two.”
Willis didn’t take a medical history and was abrupt when the woman said he wanted to stop the treatment, telling her that she wouldn’t get her money back.
Ms Stewart said: “The next day she woke up with blisters on her upper lip and they continued to weep throughout the day.
“Her lip swelled and she found it difficult to talk, eat and drink.
“She contacted Mr Wilis through the same Facebook group. The complainant had lip fillers and he hid behind that and said that it must something to do with that.”
The complainant contacted her doctor who advised her to report Willis to the GDC.
Her partner didn’t experience the same pain but said he suffered from sensitive teeth and also struggled to eat.
Ms Stewart added: “The patient harm was quite severe. The couple paid £54 for two people, which is on the lower side but not the lowest I’ve prosecuted which is £10.
“The treatment should cost £300 to £400, which perhaps is reassuringly expensive.”
Magistrates found the charges proved and fined Willis, of Walnut Street in Keighley, £440. He will gave to pay a total of £225 to the complainants and the full prosecution costs of £4,150.
