Masseter Botox – Are There Any Specific Contraindications?
Masseter Botox
The masseter muscles are a pair of powerful jaw muscles responsible for biting. While most people’s jaws naturally grow bigger as they age, some may develop large masseter muscles that result in a squared or wide lower face or discomfort from clenching and grinding their teeth (bruxism). Masseter Botox is a minimally-invasive injection used to reduce the size of the masseter muscle and help with a variety of medical and cosmetic concerns.
Masseter Botox is a non-surgical, injectable treatment that reduces the size of your jaw muscle through the use of botulinum toxin. The procedure is usually performed in a physician’s office and only takes about 15 minutes. It’s an ideal treatment for individuals who want to slim their face, or relieve jaw pain associated with bruxism or TMJ.
If you have a condition such as myasthenia Gravis, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy or any other disease that affects the nervous system, you should not receive Botox Masseter. These conditions increase the risk of a bad reaction to the injection.
Masseter Botox – Are There Any Specific Contraindications?
Many patients come to Dr Green seeking relief from TMJ issues or clenching and grinding of the teeth (bruxism), but some want to narrow their face or angularize it to appear more feminine. Aside from the TMJ problems, most of these patients have already tried a number of treatments, including mouth guards and acupuncture, with no success. Masseter Botox relaxes the jaw, allowing the muscles to return to their natural, thinner position and alleviating symptoms of TMJ.
Before the Masseter Botox procedure, your provider will examine your face and jaw to determine whether or not it’s the best option for you. They will clean the area to minimize infection risk, then mark the areas where the injections will be made. A syringe will be filled with botulinum toxin, then injected into the masseter muscle on each side of the face. Typically, two syringes are needed per side to achieve the desired effect.
Dr Tim prefers to keep the injections neatly in the lower third of the masseter, rather than at the origin as depicted on most textbook illustrations. He feels that this approach reduces the chance of impacting the risorius muscle which pulls the corner of the mouth laterally and upward when smiling. It also reduces the possibility of the masseter botox injections causing a “Botox droop” in the lower part of the face. Dr Tim has found that this approach also increases the duration of the effect.
He typically expects that masseter botox results will last about three to six months. He recommends multiple treatments spread over a few months for optimal results. He also advises against avoiding facial massage, saunas and other strenuous exercise or heat for the first 24 hours after your treatment to avoid migration of the Botox to areas that shouldn’t have it. Generally, these types of activities can cause the Botox to migrate to other areas in your head or neck, which could result in facial paralysis or other unwanted side effects.
