Staff at leading cosmetic dental firm Smile White 'mocked clients,' whistleblower reveals

Leaked screenshots seen by LBC show staff mocked clients’ appearances, comparing black patients to hippos and the movie character Big Momma, ridiculing patients’ weight, and referring to clients with learning disability slurs in WhatsApp messages.

LBC has also seen evidence of the company founders referring to prospective clients as “UNICEF” - a code, they describe themselves, for “Africans that can’t afford treatment.”

The founders – twin brothers Hassan and Hussein Dalghous - have told LBC they “regret” their use of the “inappropriate” term, and that it is not indicative of their character.

Smile White's parent company - YDS Group Ltd - told LBC that the offensive messages - which were sent in March - are “historic” – and say they are “completely contrary” to its culture.

The company offers clear aligners as a cosmetic alternative to braces, and was made popular on social media by its twin co-founders, Hassan and Hussein Dalghous - known as ‘The Twin Dentists’.

They have more than 4.3 million likes on TikTok, and hundreds of thousands of followers across their social media platforms. As well as promoting the business, their profiles show an opulent lifestyle, including the purchasing of a private jet, driving Ferraris and boarding helicopters.

The company website claims it has more than 500 Smile White dentists across the UK, and say their clients include the likes of Premier League footballers.

But behind the polished online image, whistleblowers have told LBC that things they saw or heard working at the company made it “morally challenging,” and that its leadership created an environment that was “toxic”.

Whistleblowers allege that photos submitted by clients for treatment were circulated in internal group chats with around 50 employees, where they were openly mocked.

LBC has seen sales group chats where a black woman is likened to a hippopotamus, an Asian man is compared to an Oompa Loompa, and clients are degraded for their weight.

Messages also show patients called “ugly af [as f**k]”, and dubbing older clients “old bat”.

Patient data including sensitive clinical images were shared inappropriately among staff for non-clinical reasons – which could amount to a breach of data protection law.

The business said it had met its GDPR obligations, and said founders Hussain and Hassan were not part of the group, as it was overseen by the sales team leader, who at the time was their younger brother Ali.

Anna, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, worked in recruitment at Smile White – and claims she saw client photos “shared and mocked” at work.

She told us: "It was a bit dodgy how the sales team would share pictures.

"People think they’re sending these medical pictures to a dentist or orthodontist but all that happens is that you’ve got all these 18-year-old salespeople sharing it round laughing with colleagues.

“You’d feel violated.”

And former employee Jenny (also not her real name) was shocked by the Smile White sales group chats.

She says customers approached the business, wanting to feel better about their insecurities – but were “torn down for the way they look” behind their backs.

“You’re trusting these salespeople – but they’re laughing at you whilst they make money from you.”

Though YDS has said they have a “deep respect for the dignity of their patients”, they have admitted some employees “historically” posted offensive messages about patients in a WhatsApp group.

They added that “this behaviour was completely contrary to YDS’s culture and values” and changes have since been made to increase oversight on the sales team.

But, although YDS accepted that employees’ conduct was “completely unacceptable”, they did not answer LBC’s questions about if employees faced disciplinary action.

Callum Keely – who worked as a key account holder for the orthodontics firm for four months this year – says he found the company “stressful and morally challenging”, adding that “from the get go, there were lots of things that didn’t sit right with me”, about company culture, and how people were treated.

And one former SmileWhite salesperson, Nick Smith, said he decided to leave after witnessing repeated abuse towards patients.

“It completely went against my ethics - and to see that it wasn’t just one or two individuals, it was right through the business.”

Nick alleged “abuse” was used for entertainment on the sales floor: “We’d see black patients being compared to famous memes like Big Mama, and Asian men compared to Oompa Loompas - all for the biggest laugh. It was a disgrace.”

Nick says he reported the messages to HR - but claims the company paid him a lump sum to keep the messages confidential after he left business.

He decided to blow the whistle months later, when former colleagues claimed the same patterns were continuing.

YDS told us they do not consider Nick a whistleblower and have reported his conduct to police – but LBC understands this matter has been closed by officers, with no action taken.

Further leaked screenshots of the management group chat show company founder Hussein Dalghous calling certain prospective clients ‘UNICEF’ – which he describes as “Africans that can’t afford treatment.”

A former senior manager at Smile White told LBC that the Dalghous twins used the term to refer to clients with African-sounding names - a code for people they considered poor and not worth pursuing as customers.

They added: “There were things there that I can’t morally stand by and accept. It’s crazy how they talk about people."

Though they tried to put a stop to it whilst in a leadership position, the “cultural issues” remained.

Company founders Hassan and Hussein have told LBC they “acknowledge and regret” use of the “inappropriate” word to describe some leads from an “international source”

They deny that their use of this word is indicative of their character or the wider culture in the business – saying YDS has a “deep respect for the dignity of the patients who entrust YDS with their care, along with YDS’s firm commitment to equality, inclusion, and diversity.”