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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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

The prescription and administration of botox treatments are allowed by dentists in the majority of the United States. 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. 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.

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.

Botox injections by dentists have different requirements according to the particular state involved, patients must look at the rules in the state for themselves. Treatments of botox for cosmetic reasons seem to becoming more accepted for cosmetic purposes by dentists lately.

The debate

Allowing dentists to administer botox to treat cosmetic issues has people debating if this should be approved. 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.

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.

Synopsis

Botox injections are becoming ever more popular with the demand exceeding the number of personnel able to administer the drug. 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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