Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Dentists Administering Botox Treatments

By Erin O'breen


Botox injections are administered by trained personnel in cosmetic surgery to improve one's appearance, be it for personal reasons or for medical reasons. There are rather stringent guidelines on who should be allowed to inject botox injection, with the overall suggestion being that a trained doctor should be performing them. 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.

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. For these treatments to be administered, it takes someone who knows precisely how the body works, who has had significant medical training, it's not a difficult procedure, but it takes professional skill. 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.

Botox administration by Dentists

At this time, dentists are approved for botox injections in most states in America. Botox injection procedure is not the same as cosmetic injections of other kinds. 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. A dentist can not legally administer botox treatments for conditions that are of the cosmetic variety. Doing so requires a privilege under the Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permit. Board approved courses are taught in some states like Georgia, they lay out the exact specifications of administering the toxin, and the different types available and of course rigorous review of the anatomy of the face.

Botox treatments for cosmetic reasons have lately been allowed by the Massachusetts Board of Dentistry, for those who have had the intensive training required for these injections.

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 debate

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. This concurs with some of the state board's guidance of dentists only using botox for dental related procedures.

However, the dentists would argue otherwise, stating that their knowledge of facial and maxillofacial anatomy is good if not better than many physicians, thus making them the right people to administer botox. At this time, it looks like it will be years before this debate is finished.

Summary

The number of patients requesting botox treatments seems to be surpassing the ability of medical professionals to deliver them, due to rising demand. The restrictions by state boards for delivering botox are being updated all the time, and dentists are now being sought out to perform the injections.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment