In North Carolina, the State Board of Dental Examiners has to stop telling non-dentists that it is illegal to provide teeth-whitening products or services in their state.

In a unanimous opinion and final order issued by the Federal Trade Commission, it was determined that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners acted illegally when they pushed to bar non-dentist providers of teeth-whitening products and services from selling their products to consumers in North Carolina, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The original complaint stems from the dental board sending dozens of letters telling non-dentist teeth-whitening providers that they were practicing dentistry illegally and ordered them to stop. According to the WSJ, the board also allegedly threatened non-dentists who were considering opening teeth-whitening businesses. The board also sent letters to mall owners and property management companies urging them not to lease space to non-dentist teeth-whitening providers.

The final order upholds an initial decision by Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell in July and adopts Chappell’s order with minor changes.

To read the full story see: FTC: N.C. Dental Board Thwarted Teeth-Whitening Competition