Q. What are Dermal Fillers and what do they do?
Q. Are there different kinds of fillers?
Q. What are the potential side effects of these products?
Q. Are these treatments painful? If so, do you use anesthesia?
Q. How long do Dermal Fillers last?
Q. How often can I be treated with a dermal filler?
Q. What about silicone fillers?
Q. Will an IPL or laser treatment damage the fillers that are already in my skin?
Q. What kind of problems can be improved with dermal fillers?

 

Q. What are Dermal Fillers and what do they do?

Dermal Fillers are substances that are injected into the skin to treat wrinkles and thin skin, enhance lips, raise depressed scars, and more.

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Q. Are there different kinds of fillers?

Yes. Some of the older fillers were made from animal products. They worked well, but had the potential to cause serious allergic reactions. Newer fillers are identical to the substances found in human bodyn, with very little chance of causing allergic reactions. Other fillers work by causing your skin to “fix itself.” These fillers take longer to work, but last longer. Popular fillers that we use include Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, Radiesse and Sculptra.

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Q. What are the potential side effects of these products?

Animal based fillers can cause allergic reactions. To be safe, you must have a skin test dose before you can be treated. All fillers can cause bruising and swelling that lasts for a few days. Fillers can also cause small lumps in the skin. We prefer to use the fillers that are identical to the substances that are found in human body. The results with these fillers are instant and last for months.

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Q. Are these treatments painful? If so, do you use anesthesia?

We have developed several very special techniques that make these injections very comfortable. Since we started using our new techniques, we rarely use dental blocks or local anesthetic injections. When we ask our patients to rank our injections on a pain scale from 1-10, the scores are almost always a 1 or 2. People who have had injections of fillers elsewhere are absolutely amazed at how comfortable our injections feel!

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Q. How long do Dermal Fillers last?

Restylane lasts about 6-9 months. Juvederm and Perlane last about 9-12 months. Radiesse lasts about 12-18 months. Sculptra lasts about 2-5 years. Fillers that are used to enhance the shape and size of the lips generally don't last as long in the lips because lips tend to move more than other injections sites.

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Q. How often can I be treated with a dermal filler?

As often as you like-there are no limits to the frequency of treatment. It is generally better to use less filler and be treated more often than to use more filler and be treated less often. The cost is based more on the amount of filler used and less on the number of times you are treated. Usually we are very conservative. We prefer subtle changes that look natural rather than drastic changes.

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Q. What about silicone fillers?

Silicone has been approved by the FDA for injections into the eye. The same silicone has been used as permanent cosmetic filler. However, there is a risk. If you don't like the results, the silicone will need to be surgically removed. This can turn a fun cosmetic procedure into a prolonged nightmare. For that reason, we never inject silicone into new patients.

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Q. Will an IPL or laser treatment damage the fillers that are already in my skin?

No. We usually have you wait a few weeks after a filler has been injected before doing an IPL or laser treatment in the same area. After a few weeks, the fillers become very stable. In fact, we frequently recommend IPL and laser treatments be used together with fillers to get an even better result.

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Q. What kind of problems can be improved with dermal fillers?

Using dermal fillers we can enhance lips, reshape lips, flatten the nasolabial folds, enhance cheek bones, enhance chins, fill out hollow cheeks flatten marionette lines, flatten wrinkles, hide nose bumps and more.

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