The DMD and Cosmetic Surgery

Everyone wants to look young. To look beautiful. Forever. As a result, the demand for cosmetic surgery is stronger than ever — so is the media’s attention on cosmetic surgery gone wrong. It’s no wonder the general public shakes in their boots at the idea of — gasp — a non-core surgeon performing cosmetic surgery. (Anyone besides me watch Botched this week?). Shows like Botched manage to find the rare and extreme... a “dentist” doing rhinoplasty. It brings to mind the image of your general DDS doing a filling in one room, then hopping over to another to work on a nose. This is misleading and deserves to be explored further. 

Here’s the question:

When it comes to aesthetic treatment, can surgeons from other specialties offer the same safety and results to patients as their board-certified plastic surgeon counterparts? 

Let’s take a look at my own board certification from the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (OMS). Board-certified OMS are experts at face, mouth and jaw surgery. And just like board-certified plastic surgeons, we can elect to perform reconstructive and/or cosmetic procedures. We are trained in all aspects of facial surgery and uniquely qualified to perform cosmetic and reconstructive procedures of the face, mouth, teeth and jaws. We are highly trained in surgical aspects of the skin, muscle, bone and cartilage — the face and head, literally, inside and out, with an eye to aesthetics and function. And, yes, we are also well trained in the administration of anesthesia.

So why is it that the OMS specialty is excluded from the so-called “core” cosmetic specialties, which include plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, dermatologists and oculoplastic surgeons? 

Let’s consider a few facts:

Fact: Plastic surgery is not cosmetic surgery.
Fact: Regardless of specialty, cosmetic expertise comes from fellowship and residency training and experience.
Fact: Cosmetic surgery is safely and effectively practiced by surgeons from a variety of fields, including plastic surgeons.
Fact: There are cosmetic surgeons from all specialties, including plastic surgery, who have a record of poor performance.
Fact: The onus is on every patient to do their homework and find a surgeon they can trust.  

Certification by the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery may ensure in-depth surgical training in all aspects of plastic surgery (to quote the association), but in no way guarantees that (a) all their member surgeons have an eye for aesthetics and (b) there aren’t other paths surgeons can take to specialize in cosmetic surgery. 

Also, the ASAPS isn’t the only professional aesthetic medical society out there that offers ongoing education, training and support to qualified members. There’s also the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS). Not only does the AACS recognize that board certified OMS have the skill sets to perform facial cosmetic procedures, but they also allow us to become Fellows of the Academy. 

The OMS specialty consistently proves itself. It's time to separate fact from fiction in the aesthetic space: #plasticsurgerypropaganda