Colwyn Bay owner cleared of unlawfully practising teeth claimed she merely offered to sell a special gel

After a hearing lasting several hours in a case brought by the General Dental Council magistrates upheld a claim by her barrister that two investigators, both retired London detectives, had not fully observed the code of practice of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act by not cautioning Gemma Salter at an earlier stage when they visited the “Beauty Room” at the salon.

Court chairman Graham Edwards said in Llandudno that “significant statements” should have been put to Mrs Salter for her to respond during an interview at The Hair Shop in Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay. She had been deprived of the early opportunity to comment on what was being claimed against her.

The case was then dismissed, and defence costs awarded from central funds.

Sebastian Winnett, counsel for the GDC, insisted that the two investigators “were professional people doing a fair job.”

He said it was illegal to carry out teeth whitening when not a dentist or dental care professional. This was because there were a number of risks, such as products producing a chemical reaction and damaging the teeth, or other adverse effects. Enhanced duties of care were involved.

Giving evidence, Shareen Shah said she made an appointment under an assumed name by Facebook and visited the salon last November. Mrs Salter told her that “self-administering” with a gel was involved and advised that afterwards there should be no smoking for 24 hours and a chicken and rice diet should be followed.

She alleged that she was told the whitening would be in three stages, with teeth gel applied to a mouth guard and then a laser light shone into the mouth.

She and Stephen White, the other investigator, had then identified themselves as being from the GDC. A reduced price of £60 had been quoted.

Cross examined by defence barrister Matthew McDonagh, she explained: “The GDC is keen to protect the public.”

She added: “She said it was a self-administered, non-peroxide, and also about safety of the gel if swallowed. She said she would fill the mouth guard and direct the light to my mouth. She said she and her colleague had done a few of these.”

Mr McDonagh said the “verbals” were disputed.

“It’s when she offers the advice and then says she would direct the light. It’s the two things that make a criminal offence,” the witness declared.

She told Mr Winnett: “I have no need to lie, I have nothing to gain.”

Both she and Mr White strongly denied in evidence a defence suggestion that they had “verballed her up” and colluded when writing their reports, to justify their trip from London. Mr White, 32 years in the police and a former Scotland Yard detective, said his colleague’s account was entirely true. “There were no verbals,” he maintained.

After the case Mrs Salter, who has a young child, said : “What has been claimed about me is wrong. I’m so relieved by the outcome because my reputation was at stake. I still offer teeth whitening but all I do is sell a product – and certainly do not do any dentistry.”

Sean Anderson of the firm Naturawhite, who attended the hearing, issued a statement afterwards. “In recent years Naturawhite has encountered a huge resistance to discourage individuals, mainly beauty salons, wishing to make a living vending a single product,” he said.

“Naturawhite came to the defence of their customer, Gemma Salter, with their legal team and proved that teeth whitening can be carried out legally if you do not give advice while selling the product. Naturawhite have proved this in Scottish law in 2017 and now again in English law.”