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. Injections may also be delivered by other certified medical professionals like nurses, when a doctor is supervising.
Inquiries have been made as of late about botox injections that are prescribed and delivered by a dentist. State laws are part of what determines the answer to these questions, among other things.
Let's take a look at this a bit further.
What concerns are involved?
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. 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
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. For example, the Dental Board of California allows dentists to inject botox to diagnose and treat myofascial conditions that form a part of a dental treatment plan. A dentist can not legally administer botox treatments for conditions that are of the cosmetic variety. Administering it for this reason involves the Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permit to approve of the procedure. 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.
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. From observable data as of late, it looks like it's moving toward dentists being approved for cosmetic administration of botox treatments.
The debate
Allowing dentists to administer botox to treat cosmetic issues has people debating if this should be approved. 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.
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.
Synopsis
Botox injections are becoming ever more popular with the demand exceeding the number of personnel able to administer the drug. With ever changing policies, state boards are now approving dentists to treat patients who would like to have botox treatments performed.
