BY DAVID BURGER
Dr. Samy Salhadar was walking around the room with blue dots on his face.
In other settings, the sight might have been alarming, but it was perfectly natural inside Room 111 of the Colorado Convention Center Wednesday, where Dr. Louis Malcmacher was leading the course Botox Therapy for Every Dental Practice: Live-Patient Training.
Dr. Salhadar, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based dentist, signed up for the course to introduce botulinum toxin type a — the generic name for Botox — to his practice but was willing to be subjected to the therapy by another doctor who needed a volunteer.
Photo by EZ Event Photography
Hands-on instruction:
Dr. Louis Malcmacher, left, looks on as Dr. Samy Salhadar injects dental hygienist Kristi Jurney during a Botox therapy course Wednesday at the Colorado Convention Center.
“I suffer from bruxism myself.” Dr. Salhadar reasoned.
Dr. Malmacher has been teaching the one-day course for nearly half a decade at the ADA annual meeting, after fi rst learning the practice a dozen years ago. He said he was a little jealous of some of the younger dentists who were taking the course since they will be able to use the application for their entire careers, while he learned it later in his own career.
The Ohio-based Dr. Malcmacher is president of the American Academy of Facial Aesthetics, which created the course in partnership with the ADA. He will also teach a full-day course today: Frontline TMJ, Orofacial Pain Live-Patient Course (course 5206), also created in partnership with the American Academy of Facial Aesthetics.
Dr. Malcmacher stressed to his students that Botox has more than just cosmetic applications — it can also be used to treat patients with orofacial pain, bruxism and temporomandibular joint disorders. He said he has seen “explosive growth” in the use of Botox in dentistry.
“When it comes to Botox, everyone wants to try it.” he said.
Combining a lecture portion and a live patient portion is crucial for students, Dr. Malcmacher said. “This is where the rubber meets the road in dental education,” he said.
As for Dr. Salhadar, he said he signed up for the continuing education course to add a “full aesthetic” component to his practice, and being able to practice on live patients — as well as being practiced on himself — was critical.
“I’m a hands-on learner,” he said. “I like to dive in and do treatment as soon as I learn it.”
Read the article here on page 4: Botox: Not Just For Cosmetics