A FORMER Royal Wootton Bassett man who was convicted of illegal tooth-whitening earlier this year was this week fined £2,000 after pleading guilty to another instance of carrying out the procedure.

Jason Edworthy, who now lives in Buckinghamshire, was prosecuted by the General Dental Council (GDC) after it was made aware by a patient that he had been carrying out this service once more, despite not being a registered dental professional.

Edworthy was also ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and full costs to the GDC of £1,280.

Described in court as a 'serial re-offender' Edworthy was exposed in an undercover BBC sting in February in Bassett, where he was carrying out the procedure from a treatment room at the Natural Health Clinic.

Journalists used hidden cameras to reveal how he was carrying out the procedure in a room he was hiring at the High Street clinic.

Magistrates sitting in Swindon heard this week that a patient had arranged an appointment for teeth whitening due to the price being quoted - £175 - being much cheaper than her local dentists.

Despite being told she had sensitive teeth, Edworthy undertook several procedures – such as placing fingers into her mouth and applying a whitening gel to her teeth – and promised good results for the treatment.

After paying for the service, the patient suffered serious burns to her gums and undertook further research into Edworthy.

She found he was not registered with the GDC and had been prosecuted before, pleading guilty to two offences relating to tooth whitening in January 2014.

Then Edworthy was fined £250 and ordered to pay costs of nearly £1,000 for operating out of clinics in Hemel Hempstead and Middlesex.

In February 2016 a team from the BBC’s Inside Out West were able to book an appointment with him in Bassett through LA Teeth Whitening, a company which describes its treatment as ‘fast, safe, guaranteed and affordable'.

Victoria Sheppard-Jones, interim head of Illegal Practice at the GDC, said: “Mr Edworthy is a repeat offender who, despite several opportunities to stop providing this service, continues to offer tooth-whitening without being qualified or legally allowed to do so.

“We think the sentence reflects the seriousness of his actions, and we are pleased with the magistrates’ decision.”

“We hope this latest sentence will make it clear to him and anyone else that we will take action to protect patients from unregistered and potentially dangerous individuals offering dental procedures without the right to do so.”