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New regulations only permitted dentists to perform teeth-whitening procedures in Connecticut. That was until a lawsuit was filed that would overturn these new regulations.
The Institute for Justice, which is a public interest law firm, sued the U.S. District Court in Hartford on the grounds that the new laws in Connecticut were monopolistic for dentists. These new laws state that if someone other than a dentist performs whitening services, he or she could go to prison for five years, as well as face a fine of $25,000.
There are many reasons why the Connecticut State Dental Association created these laws, one being that it’s possible fore a medical condition to cause tooth discoloration, meaning a dentist would be much more qualified to handle that problem.
Any kind of evaluation, diagnosis or prevention procedure is something that should only be done by a dentist, according to the dental board. That’s why the American Dental Association stressed the importance of only having dentists perform whitening procedures.
Teeth-whitening businesses started to appear because they offered services much cheaper than dentists did. The nondentists claim that since they don’t apply any type of gel, there isn’t any dental training necessary to perform the procedures.
There are also take-home whitening products, which the user applies without the help of a dental professional.
The Institute for Justice has filed similar lawsuits before and won, one of which was eventually overturning a Connecticut law requiring interior designers to have a license.
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