Dentistry and Botox

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RUlaxin

RUlaxin

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My general dentist is starting to give Botox injections for cosmetic reasons. He took a continuing education course one weekend and has been administering injections for free to improve his confidence. I think who better than a dentist, considering their advanced knowledge of the head and neck anatomy. I've discussed this with several physicians and they think it's bogus and believe dentists should stay in the mouth, but I've even heard of gynecologists using Botox now... Gynecologists? Really?

What do you think about dentists using Botox?
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Dentists should stick to restoring teeth.
 
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Screwtape said:
What experience do you have on the subject?
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More than you. If you want to play physician go to medical school; otherwise, know your role, stay in your lane and stick to restoring teeth.
 
RUlaxin said:
My general dentist is starting to give Botox injections for cosmetic reasons. He took a continuing education course one weekend and has been administering injections for free to improve his confidence. I think who better than a dentist, considering their advanced knowledge of the head and neck anatomy. I've discussed this with several physicians and they think it's bogus and believe dentists should stay in the mouth, but I've even heard of gynecologists using Botox now... Gynecologists? Really?

What do you think about dentists using Botox?
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I didn't even know this was possible. However, without any laws to exclude dentists from doing this what's to stop them? It's all about money now and botox is a huge industry.
 
rnco said:
More than you. If you want to play physician go to medical school; otherwise, know your role, stay in your lane and stick to restoring teeth.
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I would appreciate if you could expand on your experience. You seem a little immature to have any valuable/relevant experience under your belt. If I wanted to play physician, I'd want to do a lot more than botox injections. Also, dentists do more than restore teeth, they extract them too 😉.

Edit. Just glanced through your history, most of your posts are inflammatory and unhelpful. OP and others would be wise to disregard rnco's comments.
 
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My gf's dad (dentist) does botox. It struck me as strange at first, and it's very obvious what the incentive is in adding that service to a practice, but (with my relatively limited knowledge) dentists seem like they definitely have the knowledge base to take the CME and become plenty competent in it, so why not
 
So long as we receive the proper education, why in the world not? We definitely will know the head and the neck.

Physician Assistants do Botox. Why would we be any less qualified?

I wonder if we could do laser hair removal... 🙂 In North Carolina, I'm afraid not.
 
Glimmer1991 said:
So long as we receive the proper education, why in the world not? We definitely will know the head and the neck.

Physician Assistants do Botox. Why would we be any less qualified?

I wonder if we could do laser hair removal... 🙂 In North Carolina, I'm afraid not.
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and we almost become like a plastic surgeon?

I don't know what to say about this. I like the idea of us having more options, but by doing so we are losing borders with other professions. For example, I still can't figure out the difference between plastic surgeon and oral surgeon. They both focus on head or face along with the neck, but where is the difference?
If oral surgery is for serious injuries and plastic surgeon is for cosmetic purposes, than what's the difference between plastic and those who do botox? It's like each profession is trying to engulf the other one 😀
 
Bottle said:
and we almost become like a plastic surgeon?

I don't know what to say about this. I like the idea of us having more options, but by doing so we are losing borders with other professions. For example, I still can't figure out the difference between plastic surgeon and oral surgeon. They both focus on head or face along with the neck, but where is the difference?
If oral surgery is for serious injuries and plastic surgeon is for cosmetic purposes, than what's the difference between plastic and those who do botox? It's like each profession is trying to engulf the other one 😀
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Hey... I have no problem expanding my scope of practice! And heck, I want laser hair removal for myself... and maybe a bit of subtle Botox on down the line. 😉 With these cosmetic fields, I think there is a good deal of business.
 
Soon we shall hear patients going blind due to administration of botox by non-doctors.
 
It's a turf war thing, in the end it's all about the money. Heck, dermatologists get angry when normal GP physicians do botox.

What's even funnier is that these same dermatologists allow nurses to administer botox injections, so why not a dentist? It's fairly obvious who has more experience giving out LA, especially around the head/neck.
 
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One of the oral surgeons that I work for has taken CE classes to start giving Botox injections. He hasn't given any yet that I'm aware of, but I think he's perfectly capable of doing so. I would trust him.. (If for some reason I needed Botox).

Another oral surgeon I used to work for in 2011 DID do Botox injections along with laser facial cosmetic surgery. I got to see and assist during all of it, and it was pretty cool. He definitely seemed to know what he was doing and had great results.

Now I realize these are oral surgeons who do way more in the facial region than giving Botox. But they took CE classes just like general dentists would. I don't see why dentists couldn't do this type of thing, considering they would be taking the classes they need to do it.. But I would trust an oral surgeon more..
 
JCLewis90 said:
One of the oral surgeons that I work for has taken CE classes to start giving Botox injections. He hasn't given any yet that I'm aware of, but I think he's perfectly capable of doing so. I would trust him.. (If for some reason I needed Botox).

Another oral surgeon I used to work for in 2011 DID do Botox injections along with laser facial cosmetic surgery. I got to see and assist during all of it, and it was pretty cool. He definitely seemed to know what he was doing and had great results.

Now I realize these are oral surgeons who do way more in the facial region than giving Botox. But they took CE classes just like general dentists would. I don't see why dentists couldn't do this type of thing, considering they would be taking the classes they need to do it.. But I would trust an oral surgeon more..
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The oral surgeon I shadowed did Botox. He used to do facial plastic surgery, but eventually stopped because... well... the dental stuff was more lucrative. He is a joint DDS/MD and is totally awesome at all of it.
 
Glimmer1991 said:
The oral surgeon I shadowed did Botox. He used to do facial plastic surgery, but eventually stopped because... well... the dental stuff was more lucrative. He is a joint DDS/MD and is totally awesome at all of it.
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Yea oral surgeons really are capable of doing a lot of neat stuff. But like I said, I personally don't see why general dentists couldn't give Botox injections
 
I've looked into this before. I think in many ways, dentists are as qualified or more qualified than dermatologist or nurses that give botox. Even though it seems like most of dentists' work is in the mouth and on teeth, we must learn so many details about the face, the muscles, nerves, blood vessels, etc. to a very detailed degree. Botox fundamentally is an injection for muscles, not skin, and with the right training and certifications, I don't see why dentist shouldn't give botox. Especially cosmetic dentists who have an eye for aesthetics.
 
Hey guys,
Currently in my dental ethics course we are having a debate on the use of Botox and Fillers in Dentistry. I was placed on the side that is opposed to these techniques, but I am having a difficulty finding academic articles that also oppose the idea. If any one has any other information or even links to articles helping me out, please let me know.
 
Honestly, I think it's a little silly for a dentist to do Botox.

That being said, I totally support the idea that dentists can add whatever procedures they want to their practice. They can find a niche market that no other dentist is serving and corner that market.

I say do as many procedures are you can, refer out less, and take home more money. Good for him.

I'll probably end of offering Botox, because why the hell not? As long as people want it done, you may as well be the one getting paid for it instead of someone else.
 
THS said:
Honestly, I think it's a little silly for a dentist to do Botox.

That being said, I totally support the idea that dentists can add whatever procedures they want to their practice. They can find a niche market that no other dentist is serving and corner that market.

I say do as many procedures are you can, refer out less, and take home more money. Good for him.

I'll probably end of offering Botox, because why the hell not? As long as people want it done, you may as well be the one getting paid for it instead of someone else.
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I think this sums it up perfectly.
 
How is doing Botox any more or less "ethical" or silly than doing cosmetic dentistry? Not to mention, Botox isn't only for cosmetic purposes.
 
ajj70 said:
How is doing Botox any more or less "ethical" or silly than doing cosmetic dentistry? Not to mention, Botox isn't only for cosmetic purposes.
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Quite correct. Botox helps relieve TMJ symptoms. In fact, I think it's more medically necessary for dentists to be able to Botox than other types of doctor.
 
Daneosaurus said:
I'm having trouble detecting your tone, so for now I'll take it at face value.
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A little tongue in cheek. Botox is routinely used for things like relieving crippling dystonias. The application of botox for a noncosmetic purpose is far from a dentist only thing. Thought the last statement was inappropriate
 
Cytarabine said:
A little tongue in cheek. Botox is routinely used for things like relieving crippling dystonias. The application of botox for a noncosmetic purpose is far from a dentist only thing. Thought the last statement was inappropriate
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Understood. Mine was also tongue-in-cheek. I think the turf war over the procedure is ridiculous. If a nurse is qualified to administer Botox, it would be ridiculous to think a dentist, a doctor who has extensive training in the anatomy and physiology of the head, neck, and face, should not.
 
I shadowed a neurologist who does Botox for both medical and cosmetic reasons. I know of a PA who has a private practice focused exclusively on Botox and fillers. My family doc does Botox! Why would dentists not be qualified to do Botox? If you do a lousy job, then that patient is not coming back for the second time; so it's all about the quality of service delivered. It makes natural sense to me, that a profession which is largely concerned about patients' aesthetics would be able to compete in the Botox market.

As for plastic surgeons who are all somehow always considered experts on cosmetic surgery, many plastic surgery programs do close to zero particular cosmetic cases so if an individual OMS is better positioned to do a certain facial reconstructive procedure, then why should they not?
 
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