Surgery at risk?

A relatively new risk to dental professionals, is counterfeiting and it is currently worth £10bn annually in the UK, and that no brand is safe from such copycat activities.

Counterfeiters use numerous online outlets such as search engines, marketplaces and auction sites to sell their goods. They have been known to resort to strategies such as providing fake reviews and labels such as “EU approved” to trick shoppers into believing they are genuine. Many counterfeit retailers also use social networks to promote their so-called genuine goods. This is something which is difficult to stamp out as once authorities shut down a page, it is very easy for counterfeiters to immediately set up a new one. Some will even take on the name of a reputable company, creating web pages that look uncannily similar to the real thing.

Despite the dangerous reality of counterfeit medicines and medical devices, the pharmaceutical and dentistry industries are no exception to these rogue traders. Experts estimate that up to 15 per cent of the world’s medicines could be fake.