Does the cost of Dermal Fillers say something about the qualification of a practitioner?

That's an excellent question. First and foremost you should understand that the laws of the state you reside in will determine who can legally provide an injection. In Florida as an example an besides a doctor an experienced Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner can inject dermal fillers while in other states an RN may also provide injections. By and
large once properly trained the more a practitioner injects the better they become. I would look for someone who has a few thousand treatments under their belt rather then someone who has injected less then a few hundred or less patients. And yes, you should expect to pay more for that experienced injector. Lastly ask to see the training certifications of the practitioner.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

While the cost of the dermal filler injections is not necessarily directly correlated with the skill of the practitioner, it does make sense that practitioners whose time is more valuable have to charge more. Then you have to ask yourself why the practitioners time is more valuable. Perhaps the answer is that there are more patients demanding to see this practitioner. In this case, it's certainly possible that the reason more patients want to see a particular practitioner is because they are more skilled. The saying "you get what you pay for" may be appropriate, but is not a given.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

You should look at the qualifications and training of the injector. Is it a physician or non physician? Is it a Dermatologist, Plastic Surgeon or doctor of another specialty that doesn't normally treat the skin. Would you rather have a Dermatologist with years of experience injecting the skin or an Ob-Gyn that delivers babies doing your treatments.?
Is it a nurse or an aesthetician. How long have they been injecting and how were they trained?
This is your face so you should be picky.
Also, just because you see a special for extra free syringes doesn't mean you need more than 1 syringe. I so often hear about these specials to draw you in, but the patient only needed 1 syringe in the first place. The placement of the filler is very important.
Think seriously who you really want to inject your face. It takes a lot of skill to do these treatments. I would strongly suggest a Dermatologist or Plastic surgeon to do your treatments.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

It depends. If someone is offering a dermal filler beyond what is reasonably priced within a geographic area then I would be concerned. For example, Restylane is offered at around $500. Sometimes, you might see $450-$550. If someone is trying to give it at $350, then it would be outside the norm. They are either: unlicensed, nurse without appropriate supervision, very brand new and inexperienced. From time to time, the experienced practitioners will have specials such as $50 off each syringe, or buy 2 get 3rd one free. Remember, you can always ask your potential practitioner point blank how long have they done them and always ask for some before and after pictures.
Also, you can always ask more detailed questions such as how does the filler work ie mechanism of action, and if they can't answer that then their basic understanding of the product and their ability to deal with potential complications is questionable.

Published on Jul 11, 2012