Botox Training Courses for Dentists

Botulinum toxin (Dysport®/Botox®) is a natural purified protein that relaxes muscle and that is used for non-invasive therapeutic and aesthetic treatments. Botulinum toxin injections are quick, relatively painless and can help reduce the signs of aging, as well as to decrease myofascial pain. There are a number of therapeutic and aesthetic uses of botulinum toxin in dentistry. Besides the well known aesthetic uses of reducing facial wrinkles, botulinum toxin can be used in all dental specialty areas to treat the following oral conditions:

TMD/TMJ (pain reduction)
Uneven lips/smile
Gummy smiles (reduction in gingival display)
Periodontic (pre-surgical and recession prophylaxis)
Endodontic (differential diagnosis of nonspecific pain)
Parafunctional habits (reduction in grinding & clenching)
Implants (pre and post surgical)
Orthodontics (post treatment retention)
Sleep apnea (appliance compliance)

Read more about the therapeutic applications of BoNT-A in dentistry here.

Dentists have a specialized university education in the head and neck areas and are prime candidates to include facial rejuvenation as part of their overall treatment plans. Much like painters studying their painting, dental professionals regularly examine the brush strokes, techniques, geometry, tones and style. It is all of the individual factors that produce the end piece. If the end piece is the whole face then facial aesthetics is a logical progression, or addition to smile design. Additionally, dentists make an excellent clinician choice because they:

Have specialized university education and focus their careers on the anatomy of the head and neck
Understand the importance of reviewing medical history and performing a complete exam
Are highly trained and experienced in providing facial injections
Work in a clinical setting
Don’t delegate the treatment to a staff member or administrator
Understand the importance of asepsis and always use sterile instruments or ‘once only’ disposables
Have appropriate liability insurance
Can numb areas of treatment
Can discuss and treat all aesthetic patient concerns regarding their teeth, smile and face.

Dr. Roberts discusses the importance of dental health practitioners opening their minds and beginning to understand how botulinum toxin fits into the diagnostic and treatment armamentarium, thereby improving the well-being of our patients.

Read Article

There are no long-term negative side effects associated with botulinum toxin type A, and typically, therapeutic results last 4-6 months and cosmetic results last 3-4 months. The ability to successfully treat all aspects of a cosmetic case, from start to finish, is key to achieving ideal aesthetic results. Dentists need to look beyond simply treating teeth, and look at creating smiles that are in harmony with the entire face. Drs. Roberts have written a number of research articles that have been published in Oral Health, Dentistry Today, the Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry, Spectrum, Teamwork, Just for Canadian Dentists and more. See all articles.

We train dentists, physicians and nurses from across the world. It is up to each practitioner to contact their local licensing college to determine whether botulinum toxin and/or dermal fillers is in their scope of practice within their jurisdiction, and for practice guidelines.

There is significant overlap between aesthetic and therapeutic treatments. Therapeutic treatment can have aesthetic side effects and vice versa. A thorough understanding of how the two are related is required for effective and appropriate treatment. The PTIFA Therapeutic and Aesthetic Templates illustrates their synergy. Precise anatomical placement and proper dosage is required in each case. Higher dosage than that used for aesthetic treatment alone results in reduction of headaches and migraines (see Allergan’s PREEMT study). A threshold dosage, carefully placed, must be reached in order to obtain therapeutic relief. At this juncture, the secondary and tertiary mechanisms of action of botulinum toxin (Dysport®/Botox®) come into play, and there is a synergy between aesthetic and therapeutic outcomes. That's why our Level 2 course has been designed to teach you the aesthetic use of botulinum toxin in the upper face, as well as the therapeutic use for reducing pain (migraines/ headaches/ TMJ/ bruxing/ etc). For learning therapeutic treatment skills we recommend the Level 1 online and Level 2 hands-on courses as a minimum. Level 3 takes the therapeutic training deeper. To learn more, review Dr. Roberts' article "Botulinum Toxin: Not Just a Pretty Face".

A big part of our educational philosophy is being able to successfully integrate treatment into your office. We understand the challenges of introducing a new treatment modality and so we proudly offer separate and extensive team member training. The Team Member courses are geared to give any auxiliary staff the knowledge and skill to immediately integrate back into your office after completing the course, and to help you provide the highest level of patient care. Nothing will replace the enthusiasm your will have who attend the course with you!

Our educational content is thoughtfully created and structured to allow dental and medical graduates to be successful in achieving predictable results - with little to no side effects. To do this, practitioners require a deep understanding of underlying anatomy, as well as a specific treatment and injection practices that provide the highest level of patient care. Both topics of botulinum toxin (Dypsort^®/Botox^®) and dermal fillers require ample anatomy-based instruction and clinical hands-on practice. It is not possible to obtain the depth of skill needed to be successful at both in a combined botulinum toxin/dermal filler course.

Our courses are available to international dental, medical and nursing graduates. However, some of the treatments include the use of prescription medications (ie: botulinum toxin) and require the ability to prescribe and/or administer prescription medications. Please appreciate we train practitioners from across the world and that regulations vary. Please contact the local licensing college within the jurisdiction you plan to practice for details prior to registering.

Each province/state has different regulations laid out by the dental licensing colleges. Some provinces/states allow both the therapeutic and the aesthetic uses, while some only allow the therapeutic use. Please contact your local licensing college for scope and for guidelines. PTIFA teaches both the therapeutic and aesthetic use of botulinum toxin together in the Level 2 course. As the secondary and tertiary mechanisms of action of botulinum toxin come into play, there is a synergy between aesthetic and therapeutic outcomes. In order to provide a high-level of patient care, practitioners require a deep comprehensive understanding of the PTIFA Therapeutic Template and the Cosmetic Template and their synergy.

Yes! Practitioners receive clinical integration in the Level 1 and Level 2 course. Additionally, who attend the Level 2 – Team Member course receive specific training on how to speak to patients about treatment, how to reconstitute and load syringes, supplies, marketing, billing, photography training and much more.

The Level 1 and Level 2 curriculum has been uniquely developed to help you successfully integrate botulinum toxin treatment into your practice immediately after taking the course. We understand that incorporating a new treatment modality can be challenging. Our Level 2 graduates can expect to receive all of the training, tools and clinical requirements so that they can begin integrating treatment into their offices immediately after the course.

PTIFA is known as an anatomy-based educational provider within the industry. This is one of the many reasons why dentists, physicians, nurses and specialists from across the world travel to participate in our hands-on courses. In the past, we allowed certain practitioners to skip Level 1. We found that these practitioners struggled in the higher level courses as they did not have the detailed anatomy review (16+ hours) from Level 1. All of the hands-on course materials are based on the e-Advanced Anatomy, e-Skull and E-Cadaver labs taught in Level 1 - which is why it is a pre-requisite for all of the other courses. We invite you to contact us to discuss your experience and the educational opportunity at PTIFA.

Our goal is to maximize the amount of hands-on experience you have so you are confidant offering treatment on your own after the course. At the Level 2 course you can expect to inject 10+ different patients. This is achieved by sharing amongst all practitioners to ensure an opportunity to experience multiple tissue types and areas of the face.

I believe that there are procedures being done by our medical colleagues that would be better performed by dentists. No other profession is better trained or better positioned to address the patient’s perioral esthetic concerns than the dentist.

Dr. Louis Costa, DMD-Oral Surgeon, MD- Plastic Surgeon

Adding Botox® treatments to my scope of services has been a complete success. It has made a positive impact from many different aspects… Profitability: Botox® can be provided quickly and generate significant revenue with relatively how overhead. Ease of Integration: Incorporating Botox® is much easier than it may seem. Treatments can be provided in conjunction with regular dental appointments, quickly and discreetly. Patient Satisfaction: Our clients LOVE having their Botox® treatments done at their dental office, it saves them time and keeps their treatments discreet in an environment they feel comfortable in and trust. Especially true when the Doctor and the Team have the knowledge and hands-on experience they receive with PTIFA. Fun Factor: This is perhaps the biggest payoff for my team and I. Botox® gets people excited, and when people get excited they have fun. It definitely brightens our day and its a nice change to have patients come in and actually be excited to be in our dental office. Absolute WIN – WIN. PTIFA has been very instrumental in our success, the training was superb. The hands-on components were so important, not only for me to become confident but also for my team to become confident in me as well. I feel that through my training with PTIFA and my participation in the Botox® Study Club I have established a solid understanding of Botox® and all it’s indications. I know what to expect, and I know how to manage a patients expectations and any concerns they may have. I would recommend PTIFA and its programs to any dental team interested in having more fun, offering a higher level of service to their clients, and being more profitable.

Dr. Trevor Morhaliek (Kelowna, BC)

PTIFA course is most comprehensive. From the online module to the hands-on sessions, the attendees will gain an in depth knowledge of Botox and its variety of indications. Drs. Roberts and their team are absolutely wonderful. They have the gift of being able to convey their knowledge in a very easy to understand manner. A definite must for anyone who plans on using Botox for therapeutic or esthetic purposes.

Dr. Keyvan Abbaszadeh, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon (London, ON)

According to the American Academy of Plastic Surgeons 2017 Plastic Surgery Statistics report, botulinum toxin (ie: Dysport®/Botox®) procedures has grown over 819% from 2000 to 2017. Are you taking advantage of this expanding market? Learn how you can improve patient care and increase practice revenue with minimal overhead.

On average, a new botulinum toxin patient requires 50-70 units of treatment. At $12 per unit, that visit equals $600-$840 in practice revenue. Seeing only six botulinum toxin patients per month produces approximately $3,600 – $5,040 additional revenue per month.

In one year, six botulinum toxin patients per month will produce a minimum of $43,200 in practice revenue.

Tuition Expense:

Level 1 online anatomy course ($1,695)
Level 2 – Basic Botulinum Toxin course ($3,400)
Team MembersTeam Members/Auxiliary Staff are any non-injector related office support staff of your practice. Ie: office managers, receptionists, chair-side assistants, medical assistants, hygienists, estheticians, etc. The courses at PTIFA are geared for complete practice integration and so we offer separate training courses specifically for your Team Members to learn the clinical integration and marketing. for the Level 2 Team Member course (3 x $799 = $2,397)

Total Tuition: $7,492

Supplies Expense:

Set-up Tray (syringes, ice packs, saline etc.) $250
Cost of botulinum toxin product ($270 – $365 /vial)

Total Cost = $7,742

Dentists will see a complete return on their training investment in less than two months (based on seeing six botulinum toxin patients, not including cost of Dysport/Botox® product). Besides ordering product and incorporating a tray system, offering botulinum toxin as a treatment requires no additional equipment or investment. Upon graduating from Level 2, you will be able to offer both the aesthetic treatments for reducing the signs of aging (ie: fine facial lines and wrinkles), as well as the therapeutic treatments (ie: bruxing/clenching/grinding/TMD/migraines/headaches).

Upcoming Hands-on Courses

Oct 6-7, 2023

Level 2 - Basic Botulinum Toxin: Aesthetic Upper Face & Therapeutic Pain Management

Vancouver, BC*

Oct 20, 2023

Medical Microneedling

Vancouver, BC*

Oct 27-28, 2023

Level 2 - Basic Botulinum Toxin: Aesthetic Upper Face & Therapeutic Pain Management

Winnipeg, MB

Dentists, Maxillofacial Surgeons & Specialists

Why Dentists?

Practice Revenue Opportunity

Initial Outlay

Upcoming Hands-on Courses

Dentists, Maxillofacial Surgeons & Specialists

Why Dentists?

Practice Revenue Opportunity

Initial Outlay

Upcoming Hands-on Courses

Want to learn more?