Dentists have warned that patients should avoid dodgy tooth-whitening products and practitioners.

The Irish Dental Association (IDA) says many of these products can range from 'useless to dangerous'. The Association has also expressed concern about unsupervised tooth-whitening.

Under new EU regulations due to come into force shortly, the use of hydrogen peroxide, the chemical used in tooth-whitening, will be controlled. Only fully-qualified dentists will be allowed provide tooth-whitening services.

Tom Feeney of the IDA said dentists are fully qualified to decide if the use of a tooth-whitening product is appropriate or necessary, based on a full oral examination and a check of the patient's dental history.

"Other people practising tooth-whitening do not have the ability to do that, and the use of tooth-bleaching products may be totally inappropriate and may cause serious problems."

Mr Feeney said there were also issues to consider relating to infection controland and the safe disposal of waste.

He said the IDA hoped that the Government would fully support the new EU measure.

The IDA warned that some whitening products available on the internet contain very high levels of hydrogen peroxide. These could be lethal in the wrong hands.

"At the other end of the scale, some products contain very low levels of hydrogen peroxide and these are next to useless", the IDA said.

Dentists say the new regulations will ensure that properly-qualified dentists are carrying out what is a dental procedure and that safe products are being used.

Irish dentists say the EU rules will ensure that properly-qualified dentists carry out tooth-whitening and that safe products are used.