When you think of Botox do you automatically envision a cosmetic doctor injecting someone’s face with tiny needles to smooth away their wrinkles?
You’re right in thinking that Botox is popularly used to fight and prevent signs of aging. In fact, The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that Botox is the most common non-invasive cosmetic procedure by a long shot!
But did you know that there are other amazing uses for Botox?
Today let’s talk about masseter Botox for facial slimming. This procedure is an overlap between cosmetic and medical Botox, with the intention of relaxing the muscles around the jawline.
Surprise! Botox isn’t just for wrinkles!
What is the Masseter Muscle?
The masseter muscle is a thick muscle that sits on both sides of your jaw.
It is one of the four muscles involved in chewing, and when it is well exercised it can add fullness to the sides of your mandible and jawline.
Many people get masseter Botox for facial slimming because they have hypertrophy of the masseter muscle. Or put more simply, their masseter muscle is enlarged.
How Do Masseter Botox Injections Work?
There are three main reasons why people want to get Botox in their masseter muscle:
- They want to reduce the squareness in their jaw (or get a more heart-shaped face).
- They have jaw issues, like lockjaw or clicking in the jaw.
- They grind or clench their teeth, which leads to medical issues like headaches and dental problems.
So how does Botox help to shrink the masseter muscle?
Botox is a neuromodulator, so the injected Botox helps to relax the targeted muscle. Since the masseter is a strong and thick muscle its size will decrease when it becomes more relaxed.
Since the muscle isn’t getting as much of a work out, it will shrink down over time.
Masseter Botox for Facial Slimming
The cosmetic reasons for using Botox in your masseter muscle is to achieve a more V-shaped face.
By reducing the squareness in your jawline, your cheekbones get more of an emphasis, and a tapered chin will help to slim down your face. This added definition between your cheekbones and your cheek contribute to a more refreshed and youthful look.
Who doesn’t want to look more refreshed?
This procedure is also helpful in evening out asymmetrical smiles by using Botox to balance things out.
Masseter Botox to Solve Jaw Issues
Now let’s talk about some of the non-cosmetic reasons that masseter Botox is effective.
By relaxing over-active masseter muscles, patients are able to reduce symptoms caused by disorders like temporomandibular joint disfunction (TMJ), which causes tension in the jaw, as well as common issues like teeth grinding and clenching.
If you suffer from any of these conditions, then you know that it can be very painful and can lead to other issues like headaches and dental problems.
Reducing the tension in your jaw with masseter Botox can save you money at the dentist and prevent you from wearing down your teeth and gums.
Less tension in the jaw has also reduced migraines in some patients, giving them back their quality of life.
Patients with these conditions often report that Botox injections have been life-changing.
Masseter Botox Injection Procedure
The masseter Botox injection procedure is over relatively quickly.
First, your doctor will assess your muscles and the treatment area to choose the most effective areas to inject. They will mark the injection points and will then do around 3-6 deep injections of Botox on each side to achieve your desired result.
The changes will start to take effect after about a month.
Since the treatment is temporary, the results will typically last around 3-9 months. But with repeat maintenance, it is possible to shrink your masseter muscle to the point where more time can pass between top ups.
Botox injections in your masseter muscle will cause the overall strength of your bite to be reduced, but the injections will not impact your chewing or your speech.
Typically, there are no negative side effects, but on rare occasions some bruising or soreness in the treatment area can occur.
Over to You
Whether it is for medical or aesthetic reasons, relaxing over-active masseter muscles with Botox injections can be a life changing experience.
By minimizing symptoms caused by tension in the jaw, patients are able to see impressive results in treating chronic conditions like migraines, teeth grinding, and TMJ.
And relaxing these muscles also has great cosmetic effects by softening the squareness in the jawline and creating a youthful V-shaped face.
Are you ready to try masseter Botox?
