Why inject botox in the jaw area?

Located on both sides of the head at the point where the jaw meets the skull, the temporo mandibular joint (TMJ) is the most used as without it you could not be able to eat, swallow and do other daily activities. If this joint is moved or overloaded through excessive grinding of the teeth, a person can suffer from severe tension headaches and severe pain in the jaw, definitely an unfavourable long-term condition. For this reason many times it is chosen to intervene through Botox in order to relieve the tension of the jaw, making the muscles unable to engage in the powerful and very often unconscious movement of the jaw, the main cause headache and pain.

Symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorders

The most common symptoms of TMJ Disorders include headache (often similar to migraine), earache, pain and pressure behind the eyes A pop or snap when opening and closing your mouth, pain when yawning, when you open your mouth or when chewing, mandibles that "block" or go out of position, weakness of the jaw muscles, sudden variation in the way upper and lower teeth come into contact.

What can botulinum toxin do?

Treatment with Botox for TMJ disorders and jaw tension is very rapid, direct and effective, in addition to the fact that it does not provide that few injections and no dental surgery despite injections being administered in medical practice and treatment does not require hospitalization, unlike the most common surgical treatments. Patients who have experienced this treatment have reported that they have developed improvements since the second day, but the results can be visible within a week, depending on numerous factors and the clinical condition of each subject. Areas usually affected by TMJ botulinum toxin therapy will appear relaxed and this localized relaxation will be limited, so there is no fear of being paralyzed and not being able to talk or do routine daily tasks. Injections are mainly in temporal, frontalis and masseter muscles but are also variable depending on where you feel the headache and its intensity.

How long does the procedure take?

How long does the botulinum toxin treatment procedure last? The duration depends on the number of injections needed as determined by the doctor. However, the treatment procedure on average is completed within 10-30 minutes except in special cases. Unlike what you might think. Treatment with Botulinum Toxin is not painful at all: The pain associated with the TMJ treatment procedure of botulinum toxin is due only to the moment when the needle penetrates the skin and muscle but it is the same discomfort that is felt with an insect bite. For particularly sensitive subjects, the doctor may opt for an anaesthetic cream. Many people fear the dentist as they are afraid of needles and drill, but every doctor knows that offering Happy Gas will be able to operate smoothly.

What to expect after the procedure?

After botulinum toxin TMJ Muscle tenderness of treatment will begin to disappear almost immediately. Wrinkles begin to disappear within 24 - 48 hours after injections, and you may continue to see wrinkles decrease up to a week after the procedure of the treatment with this type of Botox.  Although it is by no means an invasive procedure and almost devoid of side effects, slight temporary bruises such as numbness or redness around the injection sites were found, all unreas worrying side effects but not to be underestimated. Effectiveness varies from subject to subject, some, for example, have not noticed improvements while others have changed their lives for the better, depending on the response that their organism will give to this innovative treatment. Since the botulinum toxin treatment procedure is not surgical and non-invasive, the patient can immediately return to normal activities, but to avoid spreading the toxin to other muscles, patients should not rub or massage the injected area with botulinum toxin and remain upright for a number of hours dictated by the specialist, also limiting sport and physical activity in general.

Side effects

The most common reported side effects of treatment with botulinum toxin are headache, respiratory infection, flu syndrome, temporary drooping of the eyelid and nausea. Less commonly reported effects of botulinum toxin are pain, redness at the injection point and muscle weakness. These symptoms are believed to be linked to botulinum toxin injection and occur within the first week. There may also be localised bruises at the injection site. It happens that in the long run therapy can cause limitations; Botox injections for TMJ treatments may be limited by antibodies developed by the organism that responds naturally to the foreign body, namely the toxin. One way to delay this natural resistance is to use the lowest possible dose during longer time intervals. Treatment should be avoided during pregnancy and lactation.