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. Other qualified medical staff are also able to deliver the injections as well, if a certified doctor is present, a nurse can administer the treatment, for example.

The question of whether dentists are qualified for the prescription and administration of botox treatments has been brought up lately. State laws are part of what determines the answer to these questions, among other things.

Below we will discuss some of the specifics.

Which are the points in question?

Well, the issues with dentists injecting botox are the same with any health care professional injecting it - it is all about whether they are trained to do so. While these treatments are not extremely complicated like some procedures such as brain surgery, an elaborate knowledge of the anatomy is essential to deliver the injections safely and effectively. The certified practitioner must be able to treat and reduce the side effects that sometimes come with treatments.

In other words, dentists who are trained in prescribing and administering botox injections will likely be allowed to inject botox.

Botox administration by Dentists

At this time, dentists are approved for botox injections in most states in America. However, the indications for injecting botox are different to regular cosmetic injections. A dental plan in the state of California would permit a dentist to treat myofascial conditions with botox, the Dental Board of California certifies this. The use of botox for cosmetic reasons by dentists however is illegal. Doing so requires a privilege under the Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permit. 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.

Dentists who have completed the necessary training involved for cosmetic injection are newly allowed because of approval from the Massachusetts Board of Dentistry in that state.

Since states have their own separate rules on this subject, patients should do their own research into whether their dentist is permitted to administer these treatments. Treatments of botox for cosmetic reasons seem to becoming more accepted for cosmetic purposes by dentists lately.

The arguments in question

Some debate is happening presently for and against dentists being approved to cosmetically treat patients using botox injections. There are those who feel that dentists do not have the same level of knowledge of facial anatomy as plastic surgeons have, and talk is happening on medical forums about this topic. Some state boards recommendations are partly in line with this, that dentists should only perform botox treatments for purposes related to dentistry.

Not surprisingly, if you were to ask a dentist, they would say that they are qualified to deliver botox injections due to their specialized training in maxillofacial and facial anatomy, making them more than qualified. At this time, it looks like it will be years before this debate is finished.

Conclusion

The number of patients requesting botox treatments seems to be surpassing the ability of medical professionals to deliver them, due to rising demand. With ever changing policies, state boards are now approving dentists to treat patients who would like to have botox treatments performed.




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