Face facts: aesthetic treatments

With the popularity of anti-ageing procedures booming, many dental practices are now adding a facial aesthetics treatment service to complement their suite of cosmetic dental options.

Non-surgical facial rejuvenation and cosmetic dentistry make natural bedfellows, with Botox, dermal fillers, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and so on beginning to appear on the menu of treatment options for many dental practices.

Of course, dentists understand better than most how facial and dental aesthetics can be enhanced to work in harmony. However, these non-surgical procedures are easily accessible (and affordable) to many but in a world where fillers remain unregulated, the illegal administration of Botox a serious problem and patients confused about safe places to seek injectables. Patients need to make safe choices – and one factor to consider is what happens in the worse case scenario. Risks include allergic reactions, broken blood vessels, extreme swelling – and knowing what to do in an emergency is arguably just as important as knowing how to achieve the results patients want safely.