While Botox® is probably best known as a cosmetic treatment for facial lines and wrinkles, it provides a considerable number of medically therapeutic uses — including an increasing list of benefits for dental patients.
Many dental diseases and failed treatments are the result of overworked muscles. Minimally invasive injections of botulinum toxin — better known as BoNT-A (Botox) — can relax and retrain your muscles by disrupting the nerve communication between your brain and your muscles, causing them to stop contracting. This “retraining” can relieve and manage chronic pain, as well as help treat numerous frustrating dental disorders.
Dental BENEFITS OF BOTOX
According to the Journal of International Oral Health (JIOH), Botox can be used to correct a wide array of dental conditions:
Temporomandibular Joint Problems (TMJ) — Your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a hinge in your mouth, which allows you to eat and talk. TMJ problems happen when your muscles become tense with stress, causing you to feel discomfort when chewing, talking, or otherwise moving your jaw. Botox is typically used alongside other TMJ disorder treatments, and can help relax your TMJ joints and muscles to provide relief from pain.
Teeth Grinding — Bruxism is the name of the condition that causes you to grind or clench your teeth during the day or while you sleep. Bruxism can lead to numerous problems if left untreated, including sore jaw muscles, headaches, and damaged teeth. When Botox is injected into the chewing muscles around the jaw, the jaw relaxes, causing your teeth to unclench. When paired with a mouth guard or another procedure, Botox can help cure you of this condition.
Muscle Spasms — Not only can involuntary muscle spasms cause you significant pain, they can also interfere with your mouth and jaw movements — including, in extreme cases, preventing you from being able to open your mouth. Muscle spasms can interfere with eating, dental hygiene, and dental treatment. Botox can help deactivate facial nerves that cause painful muscle contractions, as well as those that transmit pain signals to your brain.
High Lip Lines — If you have a high lip line — also known as a “gummy smile” — a large portion of your gum is exposed above your teeth when you smile. While there is nothing medically wrong with having a high lip line, many people don’t like how it makes them look. If you count yourself among the latter group, noninvasive Botox injections can help relax your lip muscles and contribute to a lower, more cosmetically appealing smile line for a fraction of the cost of cosmetic surgery.
Post-Surgery Care — Botox can help relieve pain and enhance the healing process after oral or jaw surgery. Botox can help relax and retrain your lip muscles to handle new dentures. It can also serve as a pharmaceutical splint after you’ve had dental implants, keeping a particular part of your mouth from moving so your jawbone can heal around the rod.
What to expect:
While Botox therapy is painless, minimally invasive, and requires no recovery time, you can experience temporary side effects like muscle weakness, edema, and bruising in the injection area. It’s also important to note that the benefits of Botox therapy will fade after a certain period of time and will require repeated treatments to maintain.
Are you dealing with dental issues that might be helped by Botox treatments? Contact us today to make an appointment.
