Dr. Shulman and the whole team at Innovation Dental in Vaughan feel that it is very important for dental treatment to be individualized to the patient's needs. We spend our first appointment with you getting to know you and finding out what exactly your needs are. This is why we have a very detailed new patient form and ask a lot of questions and discuss many aspects of your oral and medical health at our New Patient exam. One of the questions we may ask is if you have or have had any dermal fillers in your lips or cheeks, or around your nose. Please know that we are not trying to reveal any secrets or question your choices. There are very important medical reasons for that question. Canadians are embracing this noninvasive method of turning back the clock on youth. It is a highly sought-after procedure and very successful. Thus, as dentists, we are seeing more and more of our patients that have had this done or are planning on doing so in the near future.
Many dental procedures involve pulling or retracting the lips and cheeks for visual access to treatment sites as well as protection of the tissues from dental instruments. Most dermatologists or certified injectors will recommend delaying your dental appointment for at least 2 weeks after having dermal fillers placed to reduce the risk of moving the fillers from the site of injection. Of course, this is only for elective dental treatment. An emergency dental issue should not be delayed but be sure to inform your dentist of your recent procedures so that he/ she can be as cautious as possible.
Dental treatment involving anaesthetic with a needle does seem to have a little higher risk. An injection can introduce bacteria into the site as a puncture hole is made through tissue in the mouth to deliver the anaesthetic to the tooth that is needing treatment. These injections can go into the upper lip or the inside of the cheek. This can allow bacteria from your mouth to enter the area of the fillers and can develop into a foreign body reaction or a biofilm infection. This is not due to unsterilized treatment, but due to the natural bacteria from in your mouth entering through the puncture hole. This is not a common complication but has been seen in some studies, but is an important consideration when doing dental treatment around dermal fillers. Dr. Shulman as well as most dermatologists and certified injectors will recommend booking elective dental treatment that involved local anaesthetic at least 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after a dermal injection procedure.
At this time, it is not standard of care to have dental patients who have dermal fillers take a prophylactic antibiotic prior to dental treatment routinely, but there is that option as a preventative measure. It is important that the patient and the doctor discuss the risks vs the benefits first.
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