Recently I had the opportunity to attend a course given by Dr. Louis Malcmacher on how to grow your practice in today’s economy. Dr. Malcmacher maintains a general and cosmetic private dental practice in Cleveland, Ohio and he is an internationally renowned lecturer and author. He is known for his wide-ranging comprehensive content and very entertaining presentation style. His course was absolutely fascinating! I literally had writer’s cramp from taking so many notes.
If you have never attended a course given by Dr. Malcmacher I would highly recommend attending one of his courses at your first convenience. Here is a link for more information about his courses:
http://www.commonsensedentistry.com/
One of the many topics that Dr. Malcmacher covered was incorporating esthetic facial injectables, specifically Botox and Dermal Fillers as an adjunctive cosmetic and therapeutic service in the dental practice. I had been hearing more about this recently and I was interested to hear Dr. Malcmacher’s perspective. Botox treatments are the most common minimally invasive cosmetic procedure in the US. Last year there were over 2.5 Million cosmetic procedures done with Botox according to The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Approximately 7% of the Dentists in the US currently provide facial injectable services.
Dr. Malcmacher presents compelling information about why Dentists may be the most appropriate Healthcare Professionals to provide facial injectable services. Here’s what Dr. Malcmacher has to say about why Dentists might be best suited to provide these services. “With Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Internal Medicine Physicians, OB-Gyns, Ophthalmologists, Podiatrists, Nurses, Physicians’ Assistants, and Medical Estheticians (who may not even be medically trained), delivering Botox to patients in the oral and maxillofacial areas, it is certainly time to recognize that Dentists are much more proficient in injections than any of these healthcare providers. Dentists are also the specialists in the oral and maxillofacial areas. We are much more knowledgeable than most other Healthcare Providers in the muscles of mastication and the muscles of facial expression which routinely receive these treatments.” Dr. Malcmacher is right on in his assessment! In addition to providing these services for purely cosmetic reason there are also therapeutic indications for facial injectable services also.
A partial list of therapeutic applications for facial injectable services include high lip line cases, retraining muscles during orthodontic treatment, TMJ and bruxism cases, and treatment of facial pain. Like every other clinical area of dentistry, proper comprehensive training is the key to successfully incorporating facial injectable services in your practice. Below is a link for the American Academy of Facial Esthetics, the organization that provides training and education to all Healthcare Providers:
Consider adding facial injectable services as an adjunctive service in your practice. Becoming proficient will require training and education, but you will be rewarded by being able to provide a valuable service that patients appreciate and desire. I recognized the deep background of experience that Dr. Malcmacher brought to this subject matter and his enthusiasm and passion for the topic was quite compelling! Thanks Dr. Malcmacher. Keep Smiling!
