Article archive / March 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 3. Source pages: 6.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a North Carolina Dental Board violated competition laws by attempting to block non-dentists from performing teeth-whitening services. The dental board argued it was exempt from antitrust laws because it is a state actor, and its duty was to regulate the practice of dentistry in the state.
The justices ruled 6-3 and sided with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when they decided that the North Carolina state board, dominated by dentists, excluded non-dentists from the business of teeth-whitening. The case was brought by the FTC. A federal appeals court agreed that the board had acted as a group of private practitioners, rather than as a state agency.
Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority opinion, said that state boards that are composed of those actively engaged in the market can run the risk of self interest. He said, “If a state wants to rely on active market participants as regulators, it must provide active supervision," and does not have the same immunity from antitrust law as states enjoy.
Justice Samuel Alito supported the board’s position. He and judges Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas said that the dental board was simply administering the proper licensing requirements.
"As a result of today's decision, states may find it necessary to change the composition of medical, dental and other boards, but it is not clear what sort of changes are needed to satisfy the test that the court now adopts," Alito wrote.
"Is this party, this board of all dentists, is there a danger that it's acting to further its own interests rather than the governmental interests of the state?" Justice Elena Kagan asked. "And that seems almost self–evidently to be true."
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