I-Team Blotter
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FDA Steps In To Ease Cancer Drug Shortages
Nursing Home Faces Fines For Residents With Dehydration, Malnutrition
Docs Often Put Positive Spin On Patient Prognosis
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Medical Board Suspends License Of Doctor Charged With Sexual Assault
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Nursing Homes Face Fines For Resident Injuries
Blumenthal Sponsors Bill To Protect Patients From Unsafe Medical Devices
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St. Francis Hospital Oncologist Fined
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Cromwell, Milford Nursing Homes Among Six Penalized By DPH
Kids Without Health Insurance At 6%, Beat National Rate
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Mental Health Facility Cited For Inadequate Care
Westport Plastic Surgeon Fined $25,000
Report: Troubled Teens Dumped In Alternative, Adult Ed Programs
Eye Surgery Centers In Waterford, Bridgeport Fined
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Medicaid May Require Approval For Some Cancer Drugs
Dental Board To Rule If Tooth Whitening Is Dentistry
by Colleen Shaddox | Mar 24, 2011 8:00 pm
(3) Comments| Commenting has expired | E-mail the Author
State dentists could get a monopoly on the lucrative business of tooth whitening pending action by a commission they control.
The State Dental Commission held a hearing in December to review whether tooth whitening should be classified as ‘’dentistry’’ – a move that would result in the procedure being done only under a dentist’s supervision. The commission is set to vote on the issue at its May 11 meeting. If the panel rules that it is dentistry – others who provide the service in shopping malls, salons and spas could be put out of business.
“I’m running a business in the state helping the economy,” said Stephen Barraco, owner of Smile Bright, a Branford company employing five people that sells whitening products in salons.
Three of the six dentists on the state commission advertise that they offer tooth whitening in their practices, including the commission chair, Jeanne P. Strathearn, a West Hartford dentist. She declined through her staff to talk with C-HIT for the story. The commission also has three slots for non-dentist “public members.” But two of those seats are vacant.
The commission’s ruling would not affect the over-the-counter sale of whitening products. Commissioners’ questions were focused on vendors offering the service outside the dental offices.
Department of Public Health spokesman William Gerrish said that the commission had received complaints that tooth whitening was being done without a dentist’s supervision. But he could not specify the nature of those complaints or whether consumers had been harmed.
The move could bring legal problems for the state. North Carolina recently prohibited non-dentists from performing whitening and is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission as a result. The FTC maintains that North Carolina’s dental board violated anti-trust laws by limiting competition for whitening customers. As in North Carolina, the state body overseeing dentistry in Connecticut is predominately made up of dentists, a key point in the FTC’s complaint.
Mitchell J. Katz of the FTC’s Office of Public Affairs refused to speculate on whether similar action would be taken against Connecticut if the commission rules that whitening is dentistry.
Regardless of whether the FTC acts, Barraco said that he and others in the industry would take legal action if the commission passes a measure that forces them out of business. He maintains he is selling a product, just as pharmacies that stock whitening strips do.
“Why aren’t they talking about Crest White Strips?” he asked.
No Connecticut business owners like Barraco were invited to testify at the commission’s December hearing, after which public comment was closed.
Hearing notices were sent to the Connecticut State Dental Association, the Connecticut Dental Hygienists’ Association, the Connecticut Dental Assistants’ Association and the Council for Cosmetic Tooth Whitening, an Alabama-based trade organization. Legal notices were mailed to the American Dental Association and the heads of the state departments of consumer protection and public health. The notices ran in the Connecticut Law Tribune.
The dental hygienists and the dental assistants’ associations testified that tooth whitening is dentistry. The Alabama-based council did not submit testimony.
The dental association submitted testimony by President Jonathan Davis, stating that tooth whitening products use “potent oxidizing elements that, if applied incorrectly or inappropriately, could cause serious chemical burn. Some whitening procedures also utilize a light source that if applied incorrectly or inappropriately could cause harm to the patient as well.” Davis warned that “only a dentist is able to diagnose the reasons for discolored teeth.’‘
In interviews, three different vendors who offer tooth whitening stressed that they never touch customers.
“I simply give instruction and the customer puts the mouthpiece in their mouth by themselves. It’s FDA approved, and certainly does not need to be done only in a dentist office,” wrote Laura Davis, owner of White Science, in an e-mail.
“No one’s ever had a problem,” said Cathi Masilotta, of Shelton-Saxe Aesthetics, a Fairfield spa.
Joyce Osborn, president of the Council for Cosmetic Teeth Whitening, insists that regulations like the one proposed in Connecticut are “really done to try to monopolize the industry.”
That industry is an $11 billion one, according to Osborn. She said that non-dentist providers offer an affordable way for consumers to get their teeth whitened. The Federal Trade Commission estimated that non-dentists charge between $100 and $150 per whitening session, while a dentist typically charges between $300 and $700, with some dental procedures costing as much as $1,000.
“It’s the same – with the exception of what you’re paying,” Osborn said.
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posted by: Gary W. Vollan L. D. on March 24, 2011 10:53pm
If the American Dental Association is so concerned about the safety of non-dentist doing teeth whitening then it would make more sense for the ADA to train and educate those that want to offer the service. The American Dental Association wants to stop others from offering services at a more affordable cost. It’s a turf issue. The ADA continues to fight denturists across our Nation to keep us from offering affordable denture care. The denturist profession is regulated in six states and we are fighting to provide the services wwe’veeen trained and educated to provide. I pray that the FTC wins the case and then takes the case for the denturist profession. Gary W. Vollan L.D.
posted by: observer on March 25, 2011 9:43am
This is a clear conflict of interest and those Commissioners who offer these services should not be voting on this bill. This is about dentists controlling this market and charging far higher prices than a non-dentist would. I agree that perhaps training or licensing should be regulated, but certainly not the ability of a non-dentist to perform a pretty routine service.