SmileDirectClub Case Prompts Rare Antitrust Chief Argument

A federal appeals court dispute over a dental company’s ability to operate in Alabama has drawn the nation’s top antitrust enforcers, including the head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday is whether members of Alabama’s Dental Board can be sued for allegedly violating antitrust laws when they threatened to shut down SmileDirectClub’s teledentistry operations in the state. Both the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission are backing SmileDirectClub in the case.

In a rare move, the DOJ’s antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, will argue on behalf of the ...