In February 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC (NC Dental). The case centered on the actions of the North Carolina licensing board for dentists. That board had sent over 40 cease-and-desist letters to individuals who were offering teeth-whitening services. Because many of these service providers were operating in shopping malls, letters were also sent to the malls’ management too.
The board insisted that teeth-whitening services could not be provided legally without a dental license from the state, thus requiring people providing teeth-whitening services to go to dental school, which can take months and cost thousands of dollars.
State law required six of the eight board seats to be held by licensed dentists and one of the eight board seats to be held by a licensed dental hygienist—professionals who also offer teeth-whitening services, who may see unlicensed providers as competitors, and who could have an interest in excluding such competitors from the dental profession.