A lawsuit filed in Jefferson County in Alabama challenging the state's ban on teeth-whitening services being offered by nondentists is moving forward.
The suit was filed against the Alabama Board of Dental Examiners on April 30 in the Circuit Court for the 10th Judicial Circuit by Keith Westphal and Joyce Osborn Wilson, who wish to sell over-the-counter teeth-whitening products. The board's motion to dismiss the case was heard on September 5 and subsequently denied by Judge Elisabeth French on October 1.
"The order was very straightforward," said Susan Wilhelm, board administrator and executive director, in an interview with DrBicuspid.com. "There was nothing unusual and no memo or opinion with it."
The case will be heard next year.
In 2011, Alabama amended the state's Dental Practice Act to declare teeth whitening to be the practice of dentistry, making it a crime, punishable by one year in jail and a $5,000 fine, for nondentists to offer teeth-whitening services. Plaintiffs Westphal and Osborn Wilson say the state banned them from offering Alabamans a "comfortable and clean place" to use the prepackaged teeth-whitening products they sell to customers. As a result, Wilson shut down her business and Westphal did not expand his North Carolina teeth-whitening business into Alabama.
