Aesthetic Dentistry Conference:What about Botox?
March 23, 2008
Time to read: approx 2 minutes
I’ve just returned from the Aesthetic Dentistry conference at the NEC Birmingham (www.aesthetic-dentist.co.uk). It’s my first time at this particular event as I am more often found at the British Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry conference (www.BAAD.org.co.uk) or related events.
Those of you who have read past posts of mine or been on the website will know that I am a keen member of BAAD and actively involved in providing high end ‘aesthetic’ dentistry in my day to day private practice in Essex.
This ‘Aesthetic Dentistry’ conference was organised by a number of the cosmetic/aesthetic dental companies headed by Dr Bob Khanna. ‘Dr Bob’ as he is affectionately known in our little community is a dentist who has branched out somewhat from Aesthetic Dentistry to get involved (heavily) in non-surgical cosmetic enhancement ie Botox, Dermal Fillers etc.
I have to say that I have been a fence dweller on this subject for some years now -not least because it seems a bit crazy to be injecting people’s faces with Botulinum Toxin- a well known poison- simply to make a few crows’ feet recede for 3 0r 4 months. ‘Take poison, feel better’ is a contradiction in terms, surely?
More seriously, I have also been waiting to see if repeat doses of this stuff are going to cause any permanent damage….and I have to admit that considering how much of it has been administered over the years both here and in the US, there is no evidence of any ill-health effects providing the practitioner is properly trained. And Dr Bob showed some compelling before and after photos of his work that demonstrated what a difference these treatments can make. There is no doubt that in the right pair of hands and with an eye for the aesthetic/artistic, significant improvements can be made.
Should dentists be using this stuff?
Well the ‘it’s not proper dentistry’ thing is now out the window, with only very conservative types considering any cosmetic dental enhancement as ‘not proper dentistry’.
We have definitely reached a point where it is ‘okay’ to want to improve one’s self and one’s appearance and this now extends well into dentistry. So it’s hardly a quantam leap to go from providing cosmetic/aesthetic dentistry to including non-surgical facial aesthetic treatments as part of the modern cosmetic dental surgery services.
The other argument ‘in favour’ is that dentists have a specialist knowledge of the face, not just the teeth, including muscles, nerves and blood vessels, where they are and what they do. Add to this is the infamous familiarity we have for -dare I say it- needles, and I am beginning to believe my own rhetoric!
Watch this space….
Invisalign before and after videos
March 11, 2008
Invisalign is a great system, and we at Winning Smiles have been working with the technology for some years now - alongside our orthodontic treatments.
In the right instance, Invisalign has exceptional benefits and no downsides!
We discovered that one of our newest dental practice friends, Dr Daniel Noor from Dental Pride in New York, has been recording his substantial progress with the system, and, what’s more, has been sharing them on Youtube, all 110 videos!
We wanted to help promote the system and show what can be achieved, and Daniel has kindly given us permission to show his results here.
If you’d like to explore what can be achieved for your own smile, why not contact us?
Another example of how teeth can be re-aligned below. Good stuff, thanks Daniel!
Dental Myth Buster 3: Painless dental injections are here
March 8, 2008
Local Anaesthetic doesn’t have to hurt (time to read: 2 mins)
With the right skill, care , topical anaesthetic gel and a little known piece of dental wizardry called ‘The Dental Wand’ we can make teeth, gums and even the whole jaw (for implant surgery) numb without the patient feeling a thing.
At my practice in Essex, this is so routine I don’t even think about it anymore. Just as in many dental surgeries the world over, dentists have come to take a little toe-curling and a wince from the patient as they administer their injections of local anaesthetic for granted, the opposite is true at Winning Smiles.
This was borne out for me the other night when my last patient came in for a clinical examination. Being my younger brother he hasn’t been in for years so obviously there was work to do…..and being my younger brother I thought I’d better do it straight away otherwise he’d just go away and wait for the abscess to develop! Giving him a lift to the station he said ‘Wow, you don’t use injections anymore, that gel stuff works really well!’…and I realised that after I had painted topical gel on the gum, he didn’t feel a thing until we were all done!
The Dental Wand is a computer controlled anaesthetic delivery system which -with a little training and a gentle approach- allows ‘numbing up’ to be accomplished without the patient feeling a thing. No sharp stab. No sharp pain as the needle continues its journey into the gum… that’s it: and all you need is
- A tube of numbing gel
- Anaesthetic at body temperature (pre-warmed)
- The Dental Wand
and a gentle approach….
Now that’s not difficult, is it? So why are so few dentists using it, oh I forgot, making your patients wince is ok…..
A patient of mine came back from the States recently. A friend of hers had just come back from the dentist over there….and Teresa was surprised to find out that her friend had been subjected to the old fashioned injection - in the land of advanced dentistry!
