Botox bill draws fierce protest in Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard a bill Wednesday that aims to restrict which medical professionals can administer Botox.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Joe Hardy, R-Boulder city, would bar dental hygienists, medical assistants and aestheticians from administering botulinum toxin, the most popular brand of which is Botox.
Dr. Goesel Anson, a Las Vegas-based plastic surgeon who testified in support of the bill, called the proposal a “very basic minimum.”
“We are not talking about nurses, we are talking about the people who are hired in medical offices to take blood pressure and charts,” she said.
She said one of the biggest reasons for restricting who can administer the powerful toxin is the lack of training some have in spotting infections.
The bill was fiercely opposed by dental hygienists who attended the meeting.
Syd McKenzie, a Reno-based dental hygienist and Truckee Meadows Community College Dental Hygiene Advisory Board member, said it was unfair to categorize dental hygienists with the other professions included in the bill, claiming they have extensive training in anatomy around the head and neck.
“This is just plain wrong,” she told the committee.
No states allow dental hygienists to administer Botox.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter
