WASHINGTON — Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh issued his first Supreme Court opinion on Tuesday, writing for a unanimous court in a minor arbitration case. His eight-page opinion was crisp and clear.

Only seven of his colleagues were present as he summarized the opinion from the bench. For the second day in a row, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is recuperating from cancer surgery, was missing. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. announced that she would participate in the day’s two cases by reviewing the transcripts of the arguments.

The question in the arbitration case, Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer & White Sales Inc., No. 17-1272, was who should decide whether a dispute should be resolved through arbitration rather than litigation. Justice Kavanaugh said arbitrators, rather than judges, should decide whether contracts calling for arbitration applied to the disputes before them.

The case arose from an arbitration contract between a firm that made dental equipment and one that distributed it. The contract called for disputes arising under the contract, with a few exceptions, to be sent to arbitration.