Botox®
Botox might not be the first treatment option that comes to mind when you think about visiting the dentist’s office. In addition to being tried and true aesthetic treatment, Botox also has several medical treatment applications.
At Oakwood Dental, we’re pleased to provide our patients with a variety of treatment options with Botox.
What Is Botox?
Botox is the brand name of an injectable medication that contains botulinum toxin, a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Is Botox Safe?
The idea of having a toxin injected into one’s body might sound concerning. However, Botox has been FDA approved for various indications and has been safely in use since 2002.
How Do Botox Treatments Work?
Botox injections carefully deliver botulinum toxin to specifically targeted muscle groups. The toxin blocks these muscles from releasing neurotransmitters, effectively relaxing the muscle tissues and preventing them from contracting.
The muscle-relaxing effect of Botox offers both cosmetic and medical benefits.
How Botox Reverses Signs of Aging
Botox helps relax and smooth wrinkles and fine lines, known as smile lines or worry lines, caused by the repeated contraction of muscles in the forehead and around the eyes. Precisely delivered Botox injections result in the relaxation of key muscles in these areas that are responsible for causing wrinkles.
After having relaxed the muscles for a short period of time, the wrinkles these muscle groups cause eventually relax out of the skin, creating a smoother, more youthful appearance.
How Botox Can Improve Health
In addition to Botox’s ability to relax fine lines and wrinkles, there is a wide range of medical indications for treatment with Botox. These applications range from treatments for an overactive bladder to axillary hyperhidrosis (severe underarm sweating).
At Oakwood Dental, we offer Botox for the following medical applications:
- Ease the symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) and sleep bruxism by relaxing key muscle groups around the temporomandibular joints.
- Relieve headaches and migraines caused by overly tight or spasmodic muscles in the jaws and neck.
How Long Does Botox Last?
These effects are not permanent. The effects of Botox injections last for an average of around three months, varying slightly from person to person, as everyone’s body is slightly different and metabolizes the toxin differently.
Aesthetic Services at Oakwood Dental in Bucyrus
Whether you’re hoping to reverse signs of aging or relieve TMD and/or headaches and migraines, Botox might be able to help you meet your aesthetic and/or pain relief goals. If you think that Botox treatments might be right for you, we encourage you to schedule an appointment at Oakwood Dental.