The Alabama Dental Board has sued the Federal Trade Commission, seeking to halt the agency's investigation into whether it is violating antitrust laws by enforcing teledentistry restrictions against SmileDirectClub, Bloomberg Law reports.
Nearly a year ago, SmileDirectClub filed a lawsuit accusing the Alabama board of improperly refusing to let it operate in an attempt to protect the interests of traditional dental providers. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission backed SmileDirectClub in the suit.
In the new lawsuit, Alabama's dental board argues that the state "is free to regulate the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, including by establishing requirements for the practice of dentistry within this state, without unlawful interference from the federal government or its regulatory agencies, including the FTC, under the guise of Sherman Antitrust Act scrutiny."