US Supreme Court considers teeth whitening
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- Published: Wednesday, 19 November 2014 07:28
- Written by News Editor
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Several justices at a recent hearing of the US Supreme Court sounded troubled over efforts by a North Carolina dental board to drive unlicensed teeth-whitening services out of business. “The object of the antitrust laws is to prevent private individuals who compete with each other in business from getting together and making agreements,” Justice Stephen G. Breyer said. “That kind of interest seems present here.”
The case, North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, illustrated a common worry for the justices — that the resolution of the dispute will have negative consequences in other cases. The dental board has eight members, six of whom are required to be practising dentists and are elected by other dentists. The board also includes a dental hygienist, elected by other hygienists, and a consumer appointed by the governor.
Starting around 2003, the board grew displeased with the rise of commercial teeth-whitening services in spas and shopping malls, and sent dozens of cease-and-desist letters to the services and their landlords. The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against the board, accusing it of anticompetitive behaviour. The board responded that it was shielded from the complaint because it was a state agency incapable of violating the federal antitrust laws.
Courts across the country have been asked to rule on similar issues. In early October, a judge in Alabama rejected a complaint against that state's dental board and upheld restrictions on teeth-whitening services as "reasonably designed to protect the health of Alabama citizens." The Supreme Court will give its decision next June.
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