Tesco has confirmed that 52 concessions that offer illegal teeth whitening treatment will be shut down. The supermarket giant has stated that all in-store Regis concessions will cease to offer 
whitening treatment.
The move comes following advice from the General Dental Council and Trading Standards. Although representatives from Regis, which is well-known for providing hair and beauty treatments, claimed that treatment was completely safe, Tesco has made the decision to eliminate whitening treatment from all its stores.
According to legislation, whitening is a dental treatment and dental treatments may only be provided by individuals who are registered with the General Dental Council. Dentists have expertise and training that enables them to administer whitening treatment with low risk to the public. Hair and beauty experts have no formal training in this area and are therefore putting patients at risk by offering whitening treatment.
Regis has also confirmed that it will no longer offer whitening treatments at its 130 salons across the country.
Katie Spears from the General Dental Council said it was pleasing to hear of the decisions made by Tesco and Regis.
The GDC has clamped down on illegal whitening in recent years and the organisation has already prosecuted a number of individuals found to be offering the service illegally.
