Dentists Performing Botox Injections

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. 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. Many considerations are made while determining the qualifications, and part of that are the laws of the state where it is administered.

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. 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. With injections such as these, there are sometimes side effects, and they can only be properly dealt with by a highly trained expert.

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

Dentists and botox injections

Most states in the United States now allow dentists to administer botox injections. There is a difference between standard injections for cosmetic reasons, and the way botox is administered. 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. The Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permit is the authority who regulates this kind of treatment. Botox injection procedures in Georgia require that facial anatomy and specific methods be learned in a 21 hour long course that the board has approved.

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. Treatments of botox for cosmetic reasons seem to becoming more accepted for cosmetic purposes by dentists lately.

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

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. 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. 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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