The Only Was Is Essex (TOWIE) newcomer Grace Andrews could face prosecution for her role as an unregulated teeth whitener at Costa Smiles Teeth Whitening Salon. Last year in a case brought against Ms Lorna Jamous the High Court deemed that teeth whitening was in fact the business of dentistry and as such should only be carried out by dentists. This makes it illegal for people not regulated by the GDC to carry out teeth whitening and means the Ms Andrews is liable to face prosecution.

The illegal chain, Costa Smiles was clearly unaware of this ruling when it announced on Twitter that Grace Andrews would be performing teeth whitening at its Hertford Salon on the 25th of Feb. After being confronted by dental professsionals on twitter it refused to accept that this activity was illegal, however it did post about a vacancy at its salon for a qualified dentist at the salon the next morning.

Costa Smiles is a chain of teeth whitening salons which offers teeth whitening at 15 different locations including London, Essex and Luton. The salon has several TOWIE stars among its client list, including Jessica Wright and Debbie Douglas who are both advertised on its site.

Unfortunately for the chain, as a result of the ruling in the high court last year, teeth whitening can now only be legally carried out by regulated dental professionals. Since last years ruling the General Dental Council has successfully prosecuted two illegal tooth whiteners one of whom was initially fined £3,500 (although the case has since been reopened on appeal).