Biography
Biography: Joao Cerveira
Abstract
The effects of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) on masseter muscles, when injected for cosmetic purposes (volumetric reduction) or treatment of excessive muscle activity (bruxism), have been investigated. Patients expect their dentist, not their physician, to offer a treatment plan that provides not only restorative dental health, but one that also includes a comprehensive approach to optimal appearance. The dentist is the treatment coordinator. It is not a question of whether the dentist should be aware of perioral esthetics; the dentist should be the key professional component. The contemporaneous question that mandates this dialectic discourse is: how active should the dentist be in the actual treatment of the perioral structures in the pursuit of the optimal smile and facial form? Any reasonable, sustainable conclusion requires objective analysis. What parameters should determine whether the dentist can adeptly perform tasks associated with esthetic extraoral facial procedures hereto for relegated to the physician or their delegate? In conclusion, the dentist is as well trained if not better trained than their medical counterparts to administer dental-related neurotoxins and injectable fillers. It should not be imposed nor should it be expected that every dentist should offer these services. However, certainly, they should not be denied the right based on arbitrary and capricious restrictions emanating from little more than turf protection. From our earliest training in oral diagnosis, we are exhorted to afford our patients a diagnosis and treatment plan that considers the indications, limitations, and alternatives for remedy