Taneesa Williamson A team-up of two industry professionals to deliver an Australian first for safe teeth whitening.
Whilst the cosmetic teeth whitening market is significantly increasing each year with an expected growth of $1.1B by 2025, the arguments around best practice remain a hot topic amongst dental professionals in Australia due to the lack of regulation. This issue attracted the attention of Sparkling White Smile Founder, Alison Egan, and dental professional Maria Lucas, who have now teamed up to deliver an Australian-first in essential education for cosmetic teeth whitening.
The Institute of Aesthetic Teeth Whitening (IATW) combines both Alison’s and Maria’s years spent in the cosmetic teeth whitening and dental professional industry to offer a comprehensive training program for non-dental professionals who offer teeth whitening services, increasing their confidence and skill when performing treatments on clientele.
Alison Egan is the founder of Australia’s largest mobile and cosmetic teeth whitening brand, Sparkling White Smile. Since its inception in 2014, it has revolutionised the cosmetic teeth whitening world by allowing technicians in the beauty industry and other business owners to offer these services to their clients. From its continued growth in an ever booming industry, Sparkling White Smile has now expanded Australia wide and across shores to New Zealand and the US.
Maria Lucas is a registered dental professional and Oral Health Therapist based in Sydney. Aligning herself with prominent dental practices, she embodies the importance of patient care, correct education and setting the standard in customer delivery to bring a higher standard to cosmetic teeth whitening training, and in particular, amongst non-dental professionals.
By combining these two disciplines together, both Alison and Maria have been able to join and unite their passion for teeth whitening to assist operators in feeling more confident and competent in their training.
What’s the current regulatory position around teeth whitening in Australia?
The regulations in the past around teeth whitening in Australia have often been viewed as relatively grey. The current position, as supported by the TGA and ACCC, is that the use of ‘”more than” 6% hydrogen peroxide (or its equivalent carbamide peroxide) may only be administered by a registered dental professional. This leaves the use of 6% hydrogen peroxide open to be delivered by non-dental professionals. These rules have seen a surge in the cosmetic teeth whitening space allowing more operators to legally deliver these services to their clients.
Is the lack of regulation problematic? Why?
It is not currently mandatory to do any training when it comes to cosmetic teeth whitening (the use of 6% hydrogen peroxide or less.) One of the greatest issues with this, is that operators who aren’t educated or trained in this area would often lack the skill to not only practically do the procedure but to choose the right candidate for the treatment. Case selection is critical, as not all clients are suitable for a cosmetic teeth whitening procedure. It is crucial that previous dental history, underlying medical conditions, the type and colour of discolouration and any other aspects are taken well into consideration before an operator proceeds to deliver these treatments. Without some sort of training, we see operators providing these services and in some cases, unethically making them available to those who perhaps shouldn’t be having it in the first place. Additionally, without training, operators are less likely to have a knowledge of their legal position and what is or isn’t allowed.
What sort of qualifications or training do you think operators should have?
We, at IATW, believe that a level of training must be introduced before any operator considers delivering cosmetic teeth whitening services to clients. It is difficult to place a qualification on this as the current position is that of no mandatory training required. Some operators, due to a lack of education and training, are learning first hand on the job during a risky process of trial and error on their own clientele. We feel that education in this space, along with a close and harmonious relationship with the dental industry, would actually encourage better skilled and more competent cosmetic teeth whitening operators in the industry.
What sort of training does your course entail?
Our training involves theory education and practical application, to assist exposing operators (in particular non dental professionals) to fundamental learnings. Whilst all registered dental professionals have completed a university dental degree, we feel it is just as important to share some of that knowledge with those who haven’t completed that level of study. Our training covers topics from dental and clinical anatomy, dental conditions, chemistry of teeth whitening, case selection, treatment and procedure planning and managing adverse effects. We aim to consolidate and summarise as much as possible, to help these cosmetic teeth whitening operators feel more confident and competent at delivering these services.
What do you hope the training course will achieve?
We hope that the training course will allow non-dental professionals who have had no training in the teeth whitening space, feel more competent and better equipped at delivering these services. Importantly, we want our students to be better educated, in the best interest of the consumer (the client receiving the procedure.)
Offered as masterclasses, the IATW is delivered both online and in person. The training is offered Australia wide and often trains students in both New Zealand and the US, with a program running every 4-6 weeks.
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