You Got Your Botox Injections Where?

More and more people seem to be getting Botox injections to try and turn back the hands of time. Now, I'm all for trying to look as good as you can, but not at the expense of looking like your face is frozen. But that's just me. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

If you are thinking about getting injections in your face to look younger where do you go? Of course there is the Plastic/Cosmetic Surgeon. Then there is the Dermatologist. Would you think about going to the Dentist to get your Botox injections? It wasn't something in the curriculum back in Georgetown Dental School, I can tell you that.

However, more and more dentists are offering it as a service after taking a one-day course. I read an article recently that said that in a survey 16% of dentists said they already offered Botox to their patients and 37% said they might offer it someday. That surprised me. The argument that some make for dentists providing Botox injections is that since dentists are professionally trained to give subcutaneous injections and are the only practitioners qualified to inject the face and mouth for pain management they should be qualified to provide Botox injections for pain management and cosmetic applications.

Botox is a brand name for a refined form of botulinum toxin – the toxin that causes botulism, a type of food poisoning. Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances in the world, and is the most toxic protein. Just 0.0000007 grams would kill most adults. Although highly toxic, it is used in minute doses to treat painful muscle spasms and now also as a cosmetic treatment to reduce lines and wrinkles. In fact, Botox injections have become one of the most popular cosmetic procedures.

Botox is used most commonly for the reduction of the appearance of frown lines between the brows, forehead furrows, and lines at the outer edge of the eye, commonly referred to as "crow's feet". In other words Botox is injected into your face in areas very close to your brain. What Botox does is temporarily paralyze the muscle that it injected into by blocking the neuromuscular transmission. So to get rid of some earned facial lines poison is injected into muscles very close to your big, beautiful brain. Seems awfully scary to me. I’m sure by now it comes as no surprise that you won’t see our office offering Botox injections. I have a personal issue about injecting a nerve toxin within inches of a brain.

According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Dental Board of California: “In California Botox or any related agents can only be used for the diagnosis and treatment of TMD/myofacial conditions as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Use for isolated cosmetic purposes is illegal, unless privileged under the Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permit. For further information, please contact our Sacramento Enforcement Unit at 916-274-6326 or our Southern California Enforcement Field Office at 714-247-2100 (please see Business and Professions Code, Sections 1625 and 1638.1).”

Have You Heard About Our Crime Fighting Pens?

For many years we’ve given away these great little BIC ink pens here at the office.  Patients have told us over and over and over how much they like the pens and how reliable they are.  And they are.  It’s the little pen that just keeps on working.

We’ve spotted our pens around the valley in the hands of a variety of people.  It’s fun when we go to purchase something and the waiter or clerk hands us one of our pens to use.  Oh yeah, we love that.

But we always figured they were just good, inexpensive, reliable pens.  Recently, however, they became crime fighters. 

A month or so ago Ben’s sister was home alone when she became a victim of a crime.  A couple of thugs knocked on her door and since she was by herself  she didn’t answer.  Then she heard the sound of a window being broken.  Terrified, she locked herself in one of their bedrooms and got out her phone and started calling for help.  Every number that she called went to voice mail.  And then, as she was sitting there terrified, she remembered that her brother’s work number was on her pen.  Yep, those pens that we give away.

She called the office and we answered.   Ben found out what was happening and nearly flew out of the office to rescue her.  He got there as the police pulled up.  As soon as she knew people were there to rescue her his sister came out – very shaken, but physically unharmed.   (The criminals were caught and sent to prison.)

Ben’s sister was in the office the other day and she was offered more pens, but she said that she didn’t need any – hers was working just fine.