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. Those who are certified to administer Botox are specially trained to do so, as there are strict rules when it comes to who has the qualifications to administer it, and generally a physician is recommended to deliver it. Of course, other trained personnel such as nurses can also inject botox but in the presence of a trained physician.

Recently, there has been some discussion as to whether dentists can prescribe and administer botox injections. There can be a number of factors that play a role in deciding this, including state laws and guidelines.

Let's take a look at this a bit further.

What are the issues?

The proper training must be taken, as dentists who deliver botox are bound by the same guidelines as other medical personnel. 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. Side effects can occur and the treating professional needs to be aware of them and capable of handling them.

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

Dentists performing botox treatments

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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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. Discussions on a number of medical forums have constantly stated that they should be performed by trained plastic surgeons that have a better understanding of facial anatomy than dentists do. The board in the state has some stipulations that agree with this assessment, and say only dentistry related botox treatments should be approved for dentists.

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.

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.




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