Dental Botox® surprisingly pretty versatile when it comes to what it can be used for. It plays the role of an elective procedure that removes age lines and other superficial imperfections. Additionally, general dentists and oral surgeons incorporate dental Botox® into their treatment plans.
Read on to learn more about how dental Botox® can be used for cosmetic and therapeutic purposes.
The active ingredient of Botox® is a dangerous yet useful toxin. Under the wrong circumstances (like botulism), the Botulinum toxin can cause paralysis throughout the body. However, the fact that Botox® causes paralysis is what makes it useful.
Being a neurotoxin, Botox® inhibits the action of motor neurons. Motor nerve endings transmit electrical impulses that cause muscle contraction. When Botox® blocks such nerves, it renders the muscles immobile.
Botox® also removes the nerves’ ability to transmit pain signals. Below are a few ways that dental Botox® can be used.
Some people have a smile where their lip retracts past the teeth and the gums. Their smile exposes the gums, making for an unattractive look. A cosmetic dentist will use dental Botox® to limit the retraction of the lip muscles.
With age, many people develop lines at the corner of their lips or either side of the mouth. These lines become more prominent when a person laughs or makes certain movements with their mouth.
Dental Botox® causes the muscles around the lips to relax and stretch out, which in turn stretches the skin that covers them. This effectively reduces the appearance of wrinkles.
Most disorders of the jaw cause pain around the jaw, ears and facial muscles. Sometimes, the conditions cause chronic headaches. A dentist can use therapeutic dental Botox® to cut off the transmission of pain signals to the brain.
Usually, a dentist will use Botox® to manage the pain as they diagnose and treat the underlying cause.
To grind their teeth, a patient needs to clench their jaw, exerting pressure on the teeth and the jawbone. The person cannot clench their jaw if the motor nerves that control the jaw muscles fail to fire electrical impulses. A dentist may use dental Botox® to deactivate these nerves.
Botox® offers relief from Bruxism and jaw clenching, giving the dentist a chance to address the underlying causes like:
In this scenario, dental Botox® can act as a standalone treatment that manages the condition. It can also be used as part of a treatment plan that may involve corrective procedures that target the structures around the jaw.
Being a paralytic, dental Botox® can act as a pharmaceutical splint. A dentist may use Botox® to deactivate the jaw muscles and prevent a patient from clenching their jaw after oral surgery.
A patient who goes home with a loaded dental implant could benefit from dental Botox®. By deactivating the jaw muscles at the site of the implant, dental Botox® will keep the jaw muscles from clenching and putting pressure on the implant and the surrounding bone.
The same goes for any procedure where the jawbone needs time to heal without undue pressure put on it.
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