Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Living / Dentists: focus!

Dentists: focus!

01/30/2009 by backofthebook.ca

By Bev Schellenberg

The next time you book your annual check-up with your dentist, consider getting rid of a few wrinkles or puffing up your lips with a botox treatment at the same time. British Columbia is the first province in Canada to permit dentists to shoot botox into their patients’ wrinkles and lips, joining the ranks of dentists in the US and Europe.

Naturally, cosmetic dermasurgeons aren’t happy. Citing dentists’ inexperience, they encourage wrinkle-worn clients to consider that quickie botox courses don’t measure up to years of experience and extensive training. I’m inclined to agree; I’d rather my dentist was focused on what’s happening inside the mouth, not the lips and face that surround it. Even given the one-stop convenience of a check-up and facial treatment — similar to buying one’s groceries and clothes at a monster Wal-Mart — does anyone really want their dentist to expand services to include Bratz doll-worthy, mountain-sized lips or flawless faces?

Whether they’re under a pillow or sitting on the bedside table, teeth are an important part of our lives, and they deserve our dentist’s full focus. They mark a rite of passage, from baby’s first tooth, the first tooth left for the tooth fairy, the first lost molar, swollen and bruised cheeks courtesy of wisdom teeth extraction, through to teeth requiring root canals and caps, and partial or full extraction.

Admittedly, teeth are also important cosmetically. I’ve seen enough friends whiten their teeth, and enough TV commercials on whitening products, to know that society is obsessed with sparkling chompers lately. I’ve also watched enough “Style By Jury” episodes, thanks to my children’s latest TV viewing preferences, to know straight, white teeth make a colossal difference in appearance, while poor teeth are apparently mandatory to being accepted for a TV makeover. Veneers make all the difference between a closed-mouth smile and a dazzling Arctic-white smile.

Which makes me only happier that my dentist is focused on everything teeth, rather than botox-generated beauty. I find myself particularly grateful for his focus on my teeth rather than my laugh lines as I face my first potential root canal. Expecting a typical cleaning and fluoride treatment this past appointment, I was unhappy to have the dentist inform me that the pain I’m desperately trying to ignore is actually the result of a cracked molar. I can’t ignore it any longer. I’m encouraged by friends who describe the root canal procedure as “relatively unpainful,” and am buoyed by the fact that I am joining a large group of fellow teeth-owners who’ve survived the experience. And, in my attempt to block from my mind the expression “as enjoyable as a root canal” — which I’m hoping is a vast exaggeration of the pain of the procedure — I’m focusing on my dentist’s years of experience. I rest secure in the knowledge that his training and experience, specialized on the inside of the mouth, will assure me of that “relatively unpainful” experience.

You may have to start examining your friends and relatives more carefully. The next time you notice a hard-to-pinpoint improvement, don’t just say, “You’re looking good — did you have a haircut?” Add: “Or perhaps you went to the dentist?” However, if you decide to get something facial smoothed out or puffed up yourself, I suggest you find a proper dermasurgeon. Dentists may clamour to carry out potential corrections to our face and lips, but they have enough to focus on already: 20 primary teeth in our children’s heads, and 32 permanent teeth in ours.

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: beauty, health, medicine

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    02/04/2009 at 6:53 pm

    Is there anyone on planet earth who actually looks younger or healthier with Botox treatments? Seems to me they just look like they’re into some weird new category of no longer trading wrinkles for Botox-face…puffy, frozen, creepy.

    If anything, I think dentists should also do tattoos. Let them release some creativity.

  2. Dr Ravi Jain says

    02/01/2009 at 12:05 am

    Although there are some very good dentists in the UK who inject botox and dermal fillers well, these are very very very few and far between. A quickie half day course to inject as and when is not in any patient’s best interest.

    At Riverbanks Clinic, I have a dentist who just does the dental work and I do all the cosmetic medical work and it seems to work very well as patients aren’t confused.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in