Have you considered trying Botox for your TMJ disorder?
Did you have to read that sentence twice? If so, it would help to backtrack our agenda for the day so you can learn how dental botox has been practiced by dentists for many years now.
Botox In Dentistry? What Is This Trickery?
Most people refer to botox as the beauty-enhancing treatment that Sylvester Stallone probably got too carried away with. Jokes aside, the common perception out there is that botox is done by professionals who want to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles from their face.
While you may be right about the treatment itself, you are mistaken about how it is only practiced by dermatologists or other skin specialists. Of the 6 million treatments for more than 20 medical conditions, botox treatments have also been administered at dentists’ offices all over the world for quite some time now.
For instance, some dentists may use botox as a finishing touch to their otherwise holistic dental treatment.
TMJ Symptoms
Before we answer your question, we need to first shed some light on TMJ, which is also referred to as the temporomandibular joint. Your TMJ works as a hinge for your mouth and, therefore, is used during swallowing, eating, talking, and other such activities.
Unfortunately, this joint also tends to be quite sensitive to stress, whether physical, psychological, or emotional. When it is stressed, the muscles around the joint tighten up and bring causing problems for your jaw and mouth, resulting in:
- Sore jaw and cheeks
- Pain around the ears and neck
- Swelling around the face
- A clicking sound in your jaw when you open or close your mouth
- Grinding or clenching your teeth (a.k.a bruxism)
- Migraines or headaches
- Continuous ringing in your ears
- A sharp facial pain
- Pain in the shoulder or neck
Since we mentioned bruxism, it is important to mention here that you might experience these symptoms even though you might not have a TMJ disorder. However, in a majority of the cases, these symptoms tend to occur in patients.
Why Dental Botox Can Be An Excellent Cure For TMJ
Dental botox can be very effective to treat TMJ. A 2012 study published that botox treatments were very effective in decreasing TMJ symptoms and helped to increase movement around the mouth after just 3 months of the treatment.
Another study published that symptoms of TMJ disorder improved among 90% of all the participants that underwent botox treatment. While these findings are quite conclusive on their own, there are still numerous practitioners conducting studies on the relationship between dental botox and TMJ.
Commonly, botox is recommended as an auxiliary treatment besides other therapies for the disorder, like physical therapy and night mouth guards. However, there have been many cases where the only thing patients needed was a botox treatment.
Once the treatment allows the muscles around the join to unclench, you are bound to experience some other positive effects, including:
- Less sensitive teeth
- Better sleep
- Teeth protected from bruxism
- Less anxiety
- The intensity and frequency of your headaches will either get reduced to a bare minimum or will disappear completely.
Are There Any Risks Involved?
There have been very few reported side effects of botox injection on their own and the only possible side effects of the treatment are quite minor. These include:
- Nausea
- Weakness in facial muscles
- Discomfort
- Bruising around the injection site
- Redness around the injection site
Final Thoughts
We hope this post has cleared all the smoke and you are finally a lot less skeptical about dental botox and its benefits for TMJ disorder. Botox injections help to relieve jaw tension by stopping muscles from engaging in those unconscious yet powerful jaw movements that cause pain and headaches.
To learn more about TMJ, visit painfreedentistsydney.com.au/tmj or schedule an appointment with a TMJ dentist in Sydney.
