Discover How Botox is Used in Dentistry
Botox has become well-known over the years for helping to smooth out wrinkles and diminish fine lines around the face. Botox is a therapeutic botulinum toxin injection that progressively blocks signals from the nerves to the muscles, allowing your face to completely relax.
Today, Botox continues to be used in dentistry and grow in popularity as it can help patients mitigate pain in areas of their mouth, head, and face. After completing a Botox Therapeutics Training program at the Pacific Training Institute for Facial Aesthetics in Vancouver, Dr. Ashraf can provide patients with this simple, yet highly-effective alternative to various dental treatments.
We Can Relieve Your Discomfort
Dr. Ashraf offers Botox to patients who are looking to alleviate their symptoms associated with different oral maxillofacial conditions. These facial injections can be used if you suffer from bruxism, TMJ disorder, facial pain, or headaches. Learn how each of these oral problems can be relieved or eliminated when you receive Botox.
Bruxism
Bruxism is a condition where you grind your teeth and clench your jaw, usually while you’re sleeping. You may also be grinding your teeth unknowingly in the midst of the day due to stress, anxiety, or anger.
Typically, the effects of bruxism can be reduced by wearing a mouth guard while you sleep to help minimize the damage caused to your teeth, but they don’t help relieve an aching jaw or headache. Botox has been found to be a more successful method of providing relief for these symptoms as it helps numb the muscles that grind your teeth and clench your jaw.
If your mouthguard isn’t helping your pain, Dr. Ashraf can inject small doses of the therapeutic botulinum toxin into your muscles that move your jaw. This will relax your muscles and prevent you from grinding down your teeth at night.
TMJ Disorder
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a point that connects the jawbone to the skull on both sides of the head. It’s used while you eat, speak, swallow, yawn, and many more everyday activities, so when the joint becomes displaced or worn down, it can cause severe pain in your jaw and head, known as TMJ disorder (TMD)
Patients who suffer from TMD are typically given a splint or dental mouthguard to wear at night to help alleviate their pain, or many try out different types of therapy. Although these treatments can be highly effective, Botox has become an effective alternative treatment for TMJ disorder.
If you’ve been living with TMJ pain and want quick relief, Botox is a great option for managing your pain symptoms. Botox helps release the tension in your jaw as it stops your muscles from applying a powerful force on your joints that are causing your headaches and oral pain. It can also help prevent lockjaw and you’ll be able to notice vast improvement within days.
Facial Pain and Headaches
Other areas of pain that many of our patients experience that can be diminished with Botox treatment by Dr. Ashraf are in the face and head. Facial pain and headaches can result from both bruxism and TMD, as well as other dental conditions.
A common type of facial pain called trigeminal neuralgia affects certain nerves in the face that is often said to feel like an electric shock. Botox can help ease the facial pain in these nerves within just a few days and can provide extended relief for months at a time.
Headaches and migraines can also be mitigated with Botox injections. The botulinum toxin is injected around pain fibers that are associated with headaches and block the release of chemicals that relate to pain transmission. This helps prevent your brain from feeling the pain and reduces the number of headaches and migraines overall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Botox injections painful?
Botox injections are generally not painful because the needle Dr. Ashraf uses is so small. While any injection can hurt, the size of the needle is a major factor in how painful it will be.
Sometimes, a topical anesthetic is used to minimize the amount of pain you might feel from the injection. An experienced Botox provider like Dr. Ashraf can minimize the amount of pain you feel, and some people hardly even notice when their injection happens.
Are Botox injections safe?
Botox injections are safe. While Botox is made from the botulinum toxin from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, the amount of this toxin that’s injected isn’t enough to cause harm to you.
In large doses, the botulinum toxin can be a life-threatening form of food poisoning. However, the doses used for Botox injections are so small that they won’t produce that effect.
How does Botox work?
Botox blocks signals to your muscles that prevent them from contracting, easing some muscle conditions, and helping to reduce the appearance of lines or wrinkles.
When your muscles can no longer contract, wrinkles soften and smooth out. This is the same reason why people who have many Botox injections have limited motion in their faces.
Where can Botox be injected?
Botox can be injected in many places, including many areas of the face. The most common areas are around the forehead, eyes, and neck to smooth out wrinkles. However, Botox is used for more purposes than for appearances and can be used for muscular conditions, too.
Dr. Ashraf is a professional Botox provider and knows where Botox can safely be injected. He’ll go over all aspects of the procedure with you and determine your eligibility for Botox. Dr. Ashraf will ensure that you’re safe at all times during the procedure and after.
Come in for Your Botox Treatment
If you’re looking for a new type of treatment that provides relief for your dental and oral maxillofacial problems, Botox may be the right option for you. Dr. Ashraf can provide you with a safe and effective treatment for your issues that are causing intense pain and he can help you understand the easy Botox procedure at your consultation. Contact our Waterloo dental office today to get started.