GAP Australasian-Dentist-Mar Apr 2019

Category 84 AustrAlAsiAn Dentist lInICal The Dento-Facial Concept thankfully, most quality dental practitioners have made this connection and over the last ten years, Dentistry has become the fastest growing sector in the broader “facial aesthetic” industry. Both practitioners and Patients alike have come to realise the value and need to blend facial advice and treatment alongside traditional intra-oral approaches. the benefits to patients are obvious, with surveys revealing their preference for receiving skin therapies from a dental practice being due to convenience and time-saving; improved quality of care, outcomes and skill compared to other clinics; together with trust in a long- standing professional relationship and the knowledge that there is exceptional levels of infection control and regulation. equally, those practitioners who have already embraced this concept have found the rewards being that they reach their full potential as a professional; offering higher and more rewarding levels of care; while also staving off industry competition and dramatically increasing practice revenue. Dental practitioners already well- versed in the industry leading concept of Complete Dento-Facial Aesthetics & Health, understand that this approach is best understood and implemented by thinking in terms of the different layers of the face. Because the typical pattern of dento-facial ageing and deterioration is the result of the dynamic, multi-factorial and cumulative effects of various assaults, anatomical and histological changes in a range of different tissues over time, there is no single, “magic bullet” approach to restoring health, vitality and aesthetics to the facial region. instead, Dental Practitioners must utilise a variety of proven techniques, applied intra- and extra-orally, that are specifically designed to target each individual layer of the face – different treatments, targeting different structures and different aspects of the ageing/ deterioration process. these techniques, learnt individually along a pathway of structured, continuous learning, can achieve incredible results when combined to form a multi-pronged, comprehensive and holistic dento-facial treatment plan. Dental Practitioners are really the only healthcare providers who can provide comprehensive dento-facial care, as we are the only ones who can set the foundations intra-orally, before further enhancing the extra-oral tissues. excepting we all understand the options that can be utilised intra-orally to restore structure, function, health and aesthetics, the mainstay of this approach extra-orally, over the last decade, has been the use of botulinum toxin (BOtOX) and dermal filler injections. Most Dental Practitioners would have heard of these treatments by now, yet few understand that this is far from the end of the story. there is a necessarily much broader picture and while these treatments remain as crucial steps in any dento-facial treatment plan, they are only one small aspect of the overall concept. BOtOX specifically targets the muscle layer, while dermal fillers restore volume and facial contours lost following changes to facial fat, muscle and bony structures. it is here that many dental practitioners fall flat. Many have only trained in Botox and Filler treatments and think that they are practising the full concept of Complete Dento-Facial rejuvenation. they have moved from focusing just on the mouth, to focusing on the mouth and a limited number of other structures. Beyond Botox As stated, the broader picture must necessarily involve dental practitioners including treatments which address all tissue layers, to achieve optimal dento- facial health and aesthetics. this means learning about and offering therapies that specifically target surface layers – epidermal and dermal (skin) changes – including a decreased rate of epidermal cell turnover, an increase in The best way to understand and achieve the concept of Complete Dento-Facial Aesthetics & Health, is by thinking in terms of addressing each of the different layers of the face. pigmentation, loss of collagen and elastin support, deterioration of skin tone and texture, and the formation of superficial fine lines and wrinkles. An approach to these layers must include therapies such as chemical peels, micro-needling, laser/ light therapy, as well as topical homecare products, since Botox and Dermal Fillers have almost no effect on these surface problems. At the other end of the spectrum, practitioners must learn and offer options for addressing issues stemming from deeper facial planes. Chief among these problems is the notion of facial “Descent” after an initial process of “Deterioration” and “Deflation” in the more superficial layers – essentially from a macro perspective – this is the typical “sagging” skin seen with more advanced aging and facial deterioration. until 2017, dental practitioners had little in the tool-kit to combat significant skin laxity, often having to wait until it was advanced enough to warrant a referral to the plastic surgeon. technologies such as High-intensity Focused ultrasound (HiFu) and radio Frequency (rF), were unpredictable, expensive, painful and only worked in the mildest of cases. this changed dramatically with the introduction of Facial thread lifting techniques, with Australian and new Zealand dental practitioners becoming some of the first in the world to be able to offer these services to patients. Skin rejuvenation procedures, like micro- needling, LED therapy and chemical peels are now administered, during routine dental visits, by the whole dental team.