The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a sliding hinge that connect the jawbone to the skull. TMJ disorders involving this joint can create pain, soreness, clicking and popping in the jaw. These disorders can be caused by trauma, dental abnormalities, or clenching and grinding of the teeth and jaw. When dental appliances, chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy and other conservative methods fail, Botox can sometimes help remedy the symptoms.
How Can Botox Help TMJ Disorders?
Botox can be injected into the masseter muscles, aka “clenching muscles” on either side of the jaw. Excessive or overuse of the masseter muscles due to clenching and grinding can put excess strain on the TMJ joint creating pain in that area. By injecting the masseters with Botox, the masseter muscle is weakened, thus it’s unable to clinch or grind as strongly and therefore alleviates the pressure exerted on the TMJ joint often resulting in a reduction of symptoms in the jaw and TMJ region. Treating the masseters with Botox can also help alleviate tension headaches, tooth aches, ear pain and neck pain.
Additionally, for people who clench or grind often, the masseters often become hypertrophied (enlarged) and can create a wide or full appearing lower face. By treating the masseters with Botox, the masseters shrink in size thus narrowing and slimming the lower face, which is often cosmetically desired. In fact, some patients undergo Botox masseter injections with the sole purpose of tapering their jaw and creating a slimmer lower face.
Frequency & Downtime of Botox Injections
Regardless of whether or patient’s motive is cosmetic, medical, or both, the treatment requires evaluation and assessment of the master muscle, treatment with Botox, follow-up in 6-8 weeks and continued Botox treatments about every 6 months. Treatment can take a little as 15 minutes and have no downtime.
The amount of Botox required is dependent upon the patient’s anatomy and desired outcome. Patients may require more frequent treatments early in their treatment course to obtain the desired amount of relaxation and shrinkage in the masseter muscles and then maintain their results with treatments every 6-9 months.
