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Botox is commonly associated with wrinkle treatment and plastic surgery. However, it can provide several dental health benefits that most aren’t aware of. Dental botox can be beneficial for people with headache pain, muscle tension, teeth clenching and grinding, lip lines, puckered chins and more. If you are dealing with any of these issues, consider what a dental botox treatment can do for you!
What Is Botox?
Most people associate Botox with wrinkle treatment and plastic surgery. Botox is a substance that stands for “botulinum toxin”. It is a neurotoxin (or a neurotoxic protein) that comes from “clostridium botulinum”. Botox is a substance that is found in nature and is a protein that can be used for aesthetic and dental purposes. Botox treatments are the most commonly performed cosmetic procedure that is minimally invasive. Around 2.8 million people received Botox in 2008 alone, according to the American Academy of Facial Esthetics.
In the past, only specialists offered Botox treatments in their office. However, more and more people are offering Botox injections at all types of businesses. Botox injections are offered at so many places that you must take caution in where you decide to receive an injection from. You want to choose someone who is a medical doctor, dentist, or other similarly-licensed professional. More and more dentists are starting to offer dental botox in their facilities because they are so knowledgeable about the head, face and neck.
What Is Dental Botox?
Dentists spend years learning about your oral health and the health of your head, face and neck. They complete 4 years of an undergraduate degree, where they then continue to do 3 more years of specialized training at dental school. Those years of training provide them countless hours of knowledge about the nerves of your face and mouth and how to relieve pain and oral health issues. Dentists are the perfect professionals to provide you Botox, as Botox is usually injected into the face.
This is what “dental botox” is—receiving Botox from a trained dental professional to treat health issues and improve facial appearance. In fact, Botox is actually considered a cosmetic dental procedure. Botox can successfully treat a variety of serious dental and medical issues, despite the fact that it is more known for its cosmetic benefits than anything else. Dental botox is an excellent option for treating dental health and cosmetic concerns.
How Dental Botox Can Help You
Botox is something that many patients look to to help relieve pain and symptoms located in their head, face or neck. These areas are abundant in nerves that can cause you pain. Dentists are trained to know about the nerves in your face and how problems with one nerve can affect your health. When dentists started using Botox injections, they found that those injections help with:
- Headache pain resulting from muscle tension in the head, face, and neck
- Headaches resulting from bite issues such as TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) Syndrome
- Persistent clenching and grinding of the teeth
- “Gummy” smiles due to over-retracted upper lips
- Upside-down smiles (as it takes more muscles to frown compared to smiling)
- Lip lines and puckered chins
Therapeutic-grade Botox is a natural toxin that relaxes and immobilizes, which makes it an ideal treatment for conditions that are caused by overactive or tensed muscles. Emotional stress can make an impact on tensing these muscles. Dental health problems such as clenching and grinding your teeth can cause pain all over your head, neck and jaw region. Dental botox relieves pain and symptoms by relaxing your muscles, while at the same time preserving the look and health of your smile.
Receiving Your Injection
Just like a regular Botox injection to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, dental botox is also administered as a simple injection. This injection brings minimal pain and is delivered in combination with sterile saline to the targeted muscles in the face. We will inject the dental botox into areas that are giving you trouble and then give you recommendations for the next 24 hours.
- We recommend that you don’t lie down for the first 24 hours.
- Avoid sun exposure, exercising, facials and microdermabrasion.
- Either go without makeup or use sterile makeup
- Make sure your skin is clean and free from sweat, dirt or other substances
Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not receive a Botox injection, even though these injections are safe. Do not receive an injection if you have been sick with a bacterial or viral infection. You shouldn’t receive an injection if you have sleep apnea problems or dermatitis on the face. Not enough studies have been done to know how Botox can affect people with these things. However, a dental botox injection is safe and very effective for most of the patients who receive them. An injection can work wonders to stop pain and other symptoms you are having for several months at a time.
Get Help Today
If you have headaches, fine lines and wrinkles, aching pains and more, consider what dental botox can do for you! Botox is a great substance for improving your appearance. However, too many people perform Botox injections that aren’t licensed professionals. With dental botox, you can be sure that a dentist (who knows what they’re doing) is performing your injection. That lowers your risk for any sort of complication (especially with your nerves) when receiving Botox.
A dentist will also know how to perform your treatment to specifically relieve pain or a symptom in a particular area of your face. With your next injection, trust a dental professional! Call Family & Cosmetic Dentistry of the Rockies today at (970) 267-0993 to learn more about our dental botox treatment!
