Many people are familiar with Botox® as a way to fight wrinkles, but did you know that it also has oral health benefits? Every day, more and more dentists are using Botox® to help relieve pain associated with certain oral health care conditions.
What is Botox®?
Botox is a substance that can be used to restrict muscle movement. For cosmetic purposes, this means less wrinkles and fine lines, creating a young and youthful appearance for users. Botox can also help to relieve discomfort and tension within the body.
TMJ
TMJ disorder is a blanket list for problems associated with the temporomandibular joint. This joint is responsible for helping you to open and close your mouth. TMJ disorder can range from mildly annoying to incredibly painful. Many people experience headaches, facial discomfort, and pain associated with opening and closing their mouths.
TMJ is caused in a variety of ways, but is commonly attributed to teeth grinding, displacement, and overuse of the jaw. Botox® helps with TMJ disorder by relieving any tension in the jaw. Many people notice quick results with Botox® treatment, and experience relief in just one to two days.
Bruxism
Bruxism, or teeth-grinding, can cause a lot of problems with your teeth and jaw. Bruxism also leads to excessive facial pain and headaches. To eliminate or minimize teeth grinding, we may recommend a mouth guard. In more extreme cases, we may recommend Botox®.
To help stop bruxism, we will put a Botox® injection into your masseter muscle. This injection will help to weaken the muscle. You will still be able to chew and speak normally, but the muscle will not have the strength to clench while you are sleeping and will effectively stop teeth grinding.
Botox® is more than just a wrinkle reducer- it is a great way to limit pain associated with oral health care issues. If you think that you could benefit from Botox® injections or want to learn more about how they can be used for pain management, contact us online, or give us a call today at (614) 882-6741.