War on For Pearly WhitesDentist lobby accused of bullying competitors
The Dental Practice Act passed by the Illinois House on Tuesday that contains a sentence that seems simple enough but has enraged teeth-whitening practitioners who say they are being bullied by a monied monopoly.
The Act, also known as House Bill 1010, says in part that “a person practices dentistry, within the meaning of the Act, who takes impressions of human teeth or performs any phase of any operation incident to teeth whitening, including, but not limited to, the sale, instruction, and application on site of teeth whitening materials or procedures.”
In other words, you will now have to be a dentist to provide teeth-whitening services.
The Council for Cosmetic Teeth Whitening begs to differ.
“Today, whitening your teeth is as widespread as painting your nails,” the CCTW says. “In fact, the same trained cosmetic professionals who fully developed safe nail and hair care technologies created the present-day cosmetic teeth-whitening industry. they invented many of the products and procedures used so widely today in homes, salons, and even dentists’s offices across the United States.
“Less than a decade into it, cosmetic teeth-whitening is already an $11 billion industry. And the fight for a slice of the pie is just now brewing.”
That fight has reached Illinois.
“[D]entists are increasingly concerned that people who aren’t trained in dentistry could harm customers’ gums or teeth,” the Houston Chroniclereports. (The issue has yet to get media attention in Illinois despite the legislation that just moved through the statehouse.)
“An American Dental Association spokesman said the association is worried that some teeth-whitening businesses may peddle unsafe products or are veering into practicing dentistry. Improper bleaching could cause burns to a person’s mouth or worse, said association spokesman Dr. Leslie Seldin.”
But the teeth-whitening advocacy website FreeYourTeeth.org says that “Lobbyists from powerful state and federal dental associations are quietly trying to eliminate this affordable option for consumers and establish a dental monopoly on the teeth whitening business,” FreeYourTeeth.org says.
The dentists seem to be winning, though.
“Teeth-whitening franchises have run afoul of several state dental boards and, in January, the Tennessee Board of Dentistry declared that the kiosk-whiteners are practicing dentistry without a license,” National Public Radio reports.
And now it looks like Illinois can be added to the list.
