Has a drooping or gummy smile made you feel like frowning instead? Do your new dentures chafe against the inside of your mouth? Despite common belief, Botox injections are effective for more than just relaxing wrinkles. A carefully administered injection can have beneficial dental applications as well, and we at Covington Dental Arts are proficient at offering the best Botox options to meet our patients’ needs.
What Is Botox?
“Botox” is the now common nickname for all cosmetic applications of the botulinum toxin onabotulinumtoxinA. It is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and Botox was the first brand to successfully market the toxin for cosmetic purposes. The toxin blocks nerve signals to the muscles, temporarily preventing injected muscles from contracting.
What Is Botox Used For?
Different from a facelift, Botox is a muscle relaxant. It is most commonly used to treat wrinkles, but it has dental applications as well. A gummy smile is the most common, but it can also help relax the muscles in cases of TMD and grinding teeth or if one has just gotten new dentures.
Conditions treatable that do not have obvious dental connection include lazy eye when it is caused by an imbalance in the eye motor muscles; eye twitching caused by involuntary muscle spasming; muscle contractures like cerebral palsy which cause severe and debilitating muscle contraction; and cervical dystonia, in which the neck muscles contract involuntarily and cause the head to twist painfully and lock in an uncomfortable position. Those with hyperhidrosis, chronic migraines, and bladder dysfunction may also benefit from Botox injections relaxing overactive muscles.
What to Expect
Treatments involving needles always tend to cause some anxiety, and Botox injections prescribed by a professional are no different. Fortunately, the procedure, performed by a skilled hand, is nothing to worry about and is quite short, usually only a matter of a few minutes. The provider inserts a needle containing the tempered Botulinum toxin into the area of the face in question, and results are noticeable within one to three days after treatment. Numbing the area in question before injection is usually an option if a patient is worried about pain from the needle, though anesthetic is not required.
Sometimes a week or two is required for the toxin to take full effect, and depending on the problem being treated, the effect may last three months or more. Regular injections are required to maintain the desired effects. After the injection, your provider may also instruct you to stay upright for four hours and to refrain from exercising for the rest of the day. Insurance does not cover cosmetic Botox.
Botox Side Effects
Receive Botox injections only after thorough discussion with your physician. Not all patients should receive the injection, and not all conditions can be managed with Botox. Be certain to only solicit Botox injections from a licensed physician at a professional establishment. By doing so, you can be assured you are only receiving injections of purified toxin by an experienced hand.
In addition to refraining from vigorous activity the day of the injection, do not massage or rub injected areas for at least 24 hours. Refraining can limit the risk of the toxin spreading to other areas of the body. Even with these precautions, complications can arise after Botox injections just as they can with any medical procedure. Depending on the location of the injection site, possible side effects include pain, bruising, or swelling at the injection site; droopy eyelids; dryness in the eyes or excessive tearing; a crooked smile or drooling; headache; and flu-like symptoms.
More serious problems may arise if the toxin spreads to other areas of the body. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience muscle weakness, trouble speaking or swallowing, loss of bladder control, or problems with your vision or breathing in the hours or weeks after receiving Botox. Expectant or breast-feeding mothers are advised against receiving Botox injections, as are those who are allergic to albumin, a protein found in cow milk used in the production of the injection.
Injections at Covington Dental Arts
At Covington Dental Arts, we offer injectables, including Botox, to provide you with all the options available to create a smile you love. Our experienced staff stays current on the latest research and is skilled on administering injections in a way that is safe and effective. We will consult with you to determine if Botox injections are the right choice for you and your smile. If you think they might be, give us a call at Covington Dental Arts today.
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