Illegal 'pop up' dentistry events in hotels

The chair of the Northern Ireland branch of the British Dental Association (BDA), Paul Brennan, has expressed his deep concern about the practice of illegal unregistered dental tourism ‘pop-up’ consultations at hotels in Northern Ireland, the BBC has reported.

Brennan said the practice was on the increase, mainly in Londonderry and Belfast, with hoteliers often unaware that what was happening in their hotels constitutes dentistry and is therefore illegal, adding: "We had a positive engagement with the Hotels Federation.”

The practise of dentistry in the UK must be registered with the General Dental Council and any venue where dentistry takes place must be registered with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).

The Northern Ireland Hotels Federation stated it has shared the BDA's guidance with its members.

The RQIA said it had received intelligence about 21 "unregistered entities" that have organised consultation events in the past three years.