The Dental Directory
For all your facial aesthetic product needs

With spring on the way and the wedding season just around the corner, the hairdressers aren’t the only ones who’ll soon start to see their appointment books bursting at the seams. For the image conscious patient, the holiday season provides the perfect excuse to refresh their look and increasing numbers of people, both young and old, will head to their dentist in their quest for a more youthful, radiant appearance.

Craig Rider, Dental Directory
Business Consultant with Dr
Randell at Springfield Dental

It’s well known that many switched-on cosmetic dentists are already enjoying this lucrative side-line, which acts as an easy extension of their usual cosmetic dental procedures. Dr Stuart Randell runs Springfield Dental Care in Wrexham with his business partner and has successfully been providing many of his patients with treatments such as dermal fillers, botulinum toxin and chemical peels for the past ten years, demonstrating how, even in rural north Wales, demand for these procedures is high.

“I’d say about 20% of my time at work is spent on delivering and teaching non-invasive facial aesthetic procedures,” says Dr Randell, “As it turns out, there is a big demand in my area for this kind of treatment.”

“It all began when some of my dental implant patients started asking me if I could offer dermal fillers, so I went on a course and trained to use it. Then my patients asked me if I knew how to administer botulinum toxin, so I went on another course and trained to use that too! Those patients told their friends and families, and the rest is history. I’d say pretty almost all of my facial aesthetic patients know about my services through word of mouth. Integrating this line of treatment into the dental practice should be straightforward for dentists who have good relationships with their patients.”

Thanks to their skills with the needle and an in-depth understanding of facial anatomy, dental professionals are very well placed to deliver non-invasive facial aesthetic treatments. But according to Dr Randell, even after attending a relevant course some clinicians don’t have the confidence to bite the bullet and put their knowledge into practice. “Placing injections in the facial area is certainly different from doing so in the patient’s mouth and for many practitioners this is a hurdle they have to overcome.”

Nevertheless, Dr Randell urges cosmetic dentists to overcome any doubts they may have:

	There are so many reasons why clinicians should branch out into this field. Dentists have the advantage of working in a clean, professional environment, which is a major priority for discerning patients. Also, many of my male patients prefer to come to me for treatment as an alternative to a more female-orientated beauty salon. Facial aesthetic procedures also complement a cosmetic dentist’s regular procedures very well. Consultations can be easily incorporated into a patient’s routine visits to the dentist.  There are an increasing number of high quality courses out there.

“We also sell other excellent products for skin care. Consumers are starting to realise that most of the perfumed, expensive skin care products on the High Street are really no better than a simple pot of Vaseline – ‘hope in a jar’. The really effective, top-end prescription-only vitamin creams can’t be sold over the counter, so patients come to us for those too. For the appropriately trained dentist, this is a quick, simple way to provide a more thorough treatment plan. ” The Dental Directory has an excellent range of cosmeceauticals to choose from including top brands like Skinceauticals, IMAGE and Priori.

	On a personal level, I find delivering these treatments very rewarding. Several of the patients I have seen were deeply unhappy with the way they looked before they took their seat in the dentist’s chair. One woman even wept for an hour during a consultation when asked which aspects of her face she wanted to improve. With a greater emphasis on ‘wellness’ within the industry, helping people feel more confident about their appearance gives me a great sense of job satisfaction.

Along with offering an extensive range of leading facial aesthetics products, The Dental Directory also has close connections with training providers and insurance companies to help would-be providers of facial aesthetic procedures get their foot on the first rung of the ladder.

	It’s so easy to make an order, you just fax through the prescription and the order arrives the next day. The company is very supportive and often has great deals on my favourite products – it’s my one-stop-shop for all my product needs.

“Getting the right training from a reputable provider is paramount,” comments Dr Randell.  The Dental Directory’s preferred facial aesthetics training provider is Innomed Training who offer formal certified training in facial aesthetics that qualify for CPD. To find out more about the training modules offered by Innomed, call 02380 676733 or visit www.innomedtraining.co.uk.

For more information on The Dental Directory’s facial aesthetic range speak to your local Dental Directory Representative, call 0800 585 586, or alternatively visit: www.dental-directory.co.uk.