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Dentists Administering Botox Treatments

By Erin O'breen


Whether wishing to make an improvement in appearance for medical reasons, or because of a personal issue, specially trained medical staff are available to deliver Botox injections for these purposes. Performing Botox injections should be done by a doctor in most cases, as the standards that are required to deliver these injections are very strictly enforced. Injections may also be delivered by other certified medical professionals like nurses, when a doctor is supervising.

Recently, there has been some discussion as to whether dentists can prescribe and administer botox injections. State laws are part of what determines the answer to these questions, among other things.

Below we will discuss some of the specifics.

What are the issues?

All medical professionals who administer botox treatments must receive the specialized training, including dentists. Granted botox injections are hardly similar to complex heart surgery, but it is still necessary to understand the intricate details of the human anatomy to produce the desired results. Side effects can occur and the treating professional needs to be aware of them and capable of handling them.

Dentists are generally approved to inject and prescribe botox after they have completed the training for this procedure.

Dentists performing botox treatments

The prescription and administration of botox treatments are allowed by dentists in the majority of the United States. Botox injection procedure is not the same as cosmetic injections of other kinds. To illustrate this, botox can be injected for the treatment of myofascial conditions and is covered by a dental plan as allowed by the Dental Board of California. The use of botox for cosmetic reasons by dentists however is illegal. The Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permit is the authority who regulates this kind of treatment. Within the state of Georgia, dentists need to take a 21 hour board approved course that details out facial anatomy and the exact techniques of using botox and the available market forms of it.

More recently, the Massachusetts Board of Dentistry approved dentists who have had practical training in cosmetic injection treatments to administer botox and fillers for cosmetic purposes.

It is evident that rules are different between states, and it is always worthwhile checking whether it is okay as a dentist to inject botox in patients. But overall, it appears that there is a growing trend of approving dentists to now inject botox for cosmetic purposes.

The controversy

There is a lot of discussion ongoing as to whether dentists should in fact be allowed to inject botox injections for cosmetic purposes. This subject has been argued lately with some stating on medical forums that dentists lack the necessary knowledge about facial anatomy, and that only plastic surgeons should perform it. Some state boards recommendations are partly in line with this, that dentists should only perform botox treatments for purposes related to dentistry.

Dentists, on the other hand, have a different opinion, they say that their understanding of maxillofacial and facial anatomy is highly advanced, making them qualified to administer botox, as much or more so than some doctors. The argument will likely be ongoing over the next several years, until it is resolved.

Conclusion

The number of patients requesting botox treatments seems to be surpassing the ability of medical professionals to deliver them, due to rising demand. Dentists are now getting approved to provide botox treatments with state boards issuing new guidelines constantly.




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