Tag: botox

Today, Botox injections have become a popular aesthetic procedure with various benefits. From lessening fine lines and wrinkles to alleviating migraine headaches, these treatments are minimally invasive and require very little recovery time. In addition, they can be performed right in your dentist’s office as an extra way to enhance your overall smile and appearance.

Whether you’ve read about Botox or heard about it from friends who achieved beneficial results themselves, there are things you need to know before deciding on whether it is the right option for you.

Top 10 Things You Will Need to Know Before Getting a Botox Shot

1. What is Botox?

Botox is a safe neurotoxin, diluted for use in injections to the facial area. This diluted neurotoxin relaxes facial muscles, limiting those facial movements that can create wrinkles and fine lines.

The neurotoxin only restricts those areas where the injections take place, so you can still exhibit facial expressions.

2. What are the Uses for Botox?

Botox is useful to treat both cosmetic issues and oral health concerns.

On the cosmetic side, Botox treatments can reduce the appearance of fine lines and noticeable wrinkles, such as frown lines around the mouth, crow’s feet at the outer edges of your eyes, wrinkles between your eyebrows, and those creases across your forehead. It can also help keep new ones from developing in these areas.

When it comes to oral health concerns, Botox can offer relief from bruxism, which is the continuous teeth grinding and clenching, usually during sleep, which leads to serious tooth damage, headaches, and facial pain. It can also help treat TMJ disorders in patients.

Botox is proving to be a valuable treatment for those suffering migraine headaches as well and aids in orthodontic procedures and the placement and comfort of dentures.

3. What do Botox Treatments Involve?

Botox treatments involve making tiny injections into targeted spots around the mouth, lips, forehead, and face. The injection itself isn’t deep, and the patient rarely suffers pain or any lingering effects.

In some instances, when you receive a Botox injection in the area between the brows, you may feel a slight sensation, brief headache, or temporary dizziness. These are normal and only temporary, usually dissipating in under 15 minutes.

Injections in other areas of the face may cause slight swelling, numbness, or redness, but these will fade within an hour or two.

It’s unlikely you will bruise as a result of the injection, but if you do, work with your provider to find a solution to minimize the discoloration.

4. How Long Will It Be Before Botox Takes Effect?

Within approximately 20 minutes, the Botox will settle completely into the facial muscles. However, the results will not be instant.

Expect to start noticing the intended results within three to five days, with the full effect taking up to two weeks. This can take longer in certain circumstances, such as if you have deeper lines in your forehead.

5. What Will You Need to Avoid Prior to a Botox Injection?

Prior to a Botox treatment, you will need to avoid taking certain medications and supplements. These include anticoagulants like ibuprofen or aspirin, which interfere with blood clotting and can increase the risks of bruising.

While there is some debate on other items to avoid, many professionals suggest foregoing multivitamins, fish oil supplements, wine, green tea, ginger, and cinnamon.

Speak with your provider about what specifically to avoid at least two weeks prior to the Botox treatment.

6. What Will You Need to Avoid Following a Botox Treatment?

Essentially, there is zero downtime following a Botox treatment, and returning to your normal life can mostly be immediate. However, you will need to limit certain activities that can lead to blood flow changes to the facial area for several hours after the injection. By doing so, you will prevent shifting or moving the injected neurotoxin from the administered location into other areas of your face or weakening its effectiveness.

Things to avoid for several hours following a Botox treatment include:

• Massaging makeup onto your face
• Washing your hair
• Exercising, especially heavy cardio
• Lying down
• Sitting in a sauna or steam room
• Flying
• Taking blood-thinning medications such as ibuprofen

Give the Botox time to settle in before returning to these activities.

7. How Long Does a Botox Treatment Last?

Botox treatments are temporary, and you will need to schedule regular injections to continue to experience results. In general, the treatments last somewhere between three and four months each time.

As the time passes, you will begin to feel less tightening in the facial muscles and notice the ability to deepen your expressions. You may start to see the return of the fine lines or wrinkles.

Patients, on average, usually seek treatments up to four times a year.

8. Is Botox a Safe Choice?

Botox treatments continue to become more popular and common today and are a safe option for those seeking to improve their appearance, treat certain oral health issues, or alleviate headaches. Most importantly, Botox is FDA-approved. Look for treatment providers with proper training and experience to improve the safety of these treatments as well.

9. Who Can Receive Botox Treatments?

Women and men both can receive Botox treatments as a preventive measure or as a cosmetic procedure to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. There is no specific age range when it comes to who can receive Botox treatments. Instead, patients need to decide for themselves by understanding their goals, the health of their skin, and overall preferences.

10. Is A Consultation Required?

Before receiving a Botox injection, an initial consultation is essential. Such a consultation provides an opportunity for evaluation of how your face moves naturally as you smile, frown, and raise your eyebrows. In addition, a health assessment and discussion about medications and supplements you take are crucial before moving forward.

You can also gain realistic expectations of the outcome of the procedure and discuss concerns, risks, and benefits.

Find Out More Today by Calling Lifetime Dental Health

The team at Lifetime Dental Health has years of experience providing Botox treatments and other cosmetic and dental procedures for our patients. Find out more today by contacting our office in Columbus and scheduling an informative consultation.

Everyone loves having a gorgeous smile they can be proud of. And why wouldn’t we? Your smile is often the first thing people notice about you when you first meet. As dental and other medical professionals enhance their knowledge and learn more from research, they discover more ways to support our oral health. We now have more treatment options when visiting the dentist than ever before.

Traditionally, Botox was used by medical professionals for cosmetic procedures. However, as medicine advances and specialists have learned more, Botox has expanded into the dental industry to be used for its therapeutic benefits as well. Many dentists across the nation are now using this injection as an alternative treatment option for many dental issues their patients experience. Discover some new things about Botox and the potential conditions it helps treat.

Understanding the Benefits of Botox for Dental Treatments

Botulinum toxin, better known as Botox, is an injection that helps relax the nerve endings that cause muscle spasms. It’s often used for cosmetic facial procedures, but it can also be used to support dental treatments.

If you’ve tried other treatment options and are looking for a minimally invasive alternative to certain dental issues, your dental specialist may recommend this treatment. He or she will work with you to create a comprehensive dental plan in which Botox can be used to support the treatment for various conditions that cause symptoms such as teeth grinding, jaw clenching, and headaches.

How can Botox help with TMJ?

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a sliding hinge that connects your jawbone to your skull. If this joint becomes dysfunctional, patients often have trouble chewing food and may experience clicking and locking of their jaw. Dentists have named this condition temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).

Many patients visit their dentist when they experience pain and other uncomfortable TMD symptoms. Often caused by teeth clenching and grinding, this condition causes pain in the jaw and facial muscles, which can result in headaches or earaches.

Botox can help relieve the pain that stems from TMD, as well as reduce the muscle spasms that result from clenching the jaws. Because TMD symptoms usually occur in certain trigger points in the face, many dentists use trigger point injections to relieve pain and reduce tension for their patients in those specific areas. Depending on the severity of symptoms and the dosage prescribed, patients can get relief with Botox for three to four months.

How can Botox help with bruxism?

Bruxism is a term that describes general grinding and clenching of the teeth. Dentists aren’t completely sure why this occurs in their patients, but it is often associated with high levels of stress. Bruxism can have many effects on a patient’s oral health, like damaging the teeth, worsening symptoms of periodontal disease, and potentially causing TMD. Like TMD, bruxism is also associated with symptoms like headaches or earaches.

Dentists often use Botox to treat Bruxism. It can help relieve muscle spasms or muscle tension that results from clenching the jaws, and in turn, it can help relieve the facial pain many patients experience.

How can Botox support orthodontic therapy?

Orthodontists undergo extensive training to learn about the anatomy and structure of the face. This includes knowing and understanding the location of a patient’s nerves and muscles. They utilize this knowledge of facial anatomy when planning orthodontic treatment and the realignment of teeth.

However, relapse can happen if orthodontists don’t properly consider the facial muscles after orthodontic treatment is complete. This can cause hyperactive muscles in the face and disrupt the recent alignment of the teeth. If this occurs, Botox can help relieve that muscle tension or potential spasms, as well as any teeth grinding or clenching that occurs after teeth realignment.

How can Botox support cosmetic dental procedures?

Most patients’ reason for visiting a dentist in the first place is to achieve a bright, white smile. In addition to undergoing preventative dental care, many patients are also scheduling appointments for regular cosmetic procedures like teeth whitening and veneers to improve their smiles. After you visit your dentist for these cosmetic procedures, you’ll be sure to want to show off your smile to everyone you encounter.

Dentists are recommending Botox treatments to patients to help support and enhance their cosmetic procedures. It can help compliment the appearance of your teeth when smiling. Botox can be used to eliminate the wrinkles around your mouth, as well as heighten your lips when you smile. Show off more of those pearly whites when you get Botox after your teeth whitening procedure.

Contact Us for Botox Treatments Today

Botox is a new and little-known treatment that can assist in more than just cosmetic facial procedures. It can help you with many dental issues you may be experiencing. Just ask your dentist at your next checkup!

If you’re interested in learning more about Botox for dental treatments and you’d like to know how these treatments can benefit you, call our practice today! Our experienced and certified Botox dentists are here to help create a personalized treatment plan just for you.

While reducing wrinkles is today’s most common and well-known use of Botox, there are other reasons people may want to give it a try. And here at Lifetime Dental Health, Drs. Barry and Love are certified Botox doctors, so they can administer Botox safely and properly, be it for dental issues or a cosmetic “tune up.”

Botox is FDA approved. It essentially attaches to the muscle, preventing it from contracting as it normally would.

I would like to try Botox. Do I need to have a dental issue in order for Dr. Barry or Dr. Love to administer Botox to me?

You do not need to have a dental health issue to receive Botox injections at Lifetime Dental Health. While it does work to counteract dental issues (more details below), we are happy to consult patients who are interested in the use of Botox for cosmetic reasons that are not associated with dental care. Botox has been proven effective in lessening the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles that make people look older, less refreshed, and not as attractive as they would hope to appear. From crinkly crow’s feet to frown-inducing frown lines, Botox shots work to help patients retain a youthful appearance. Wrinkles become less evident, skin looks smoother, droopiness is diminished, and other cosmetic concerns are all but “cured.”

How long will the results of Botox last?

Your results from your Botox injections last an average of three to four months. We can see how your results are holding up and suggest another time to come in for a refresher based on your appearance and what you are aiming for. We can even set up an ongoing treatment plan to pre-schedule your visits so you are on top of your Botox and keep looking beautiful. Every patient’s results will vary, so we will see how your results progress and advise on a case-by-case basis.

How is Botox used for dental treatment? What sorts of issues can it relieve, reduce, or get rid of?

Botox injections are used for patients who experience pain from TMJ (temporo-mandibular joint disorder), orthodontics, dentures, teeth clenching, and teeth grinding (bruxism). The stress, tension, and soreness that can result from these dental-related conditions can result in facial pain and headaches. The areas that are affected are treated with Botox and many patients find considerable relief as these points are “relaxed” by the injections.

Does Botox hurt?

Botox is administered via injection (a shot), so you will feel the prick of the needle. But the process is quick and any pain or discomfort should go away quickly. Depending upon the reason for your visit and your level of sensitivity, we can possibly provide a numbing agent to the area before administering the Botox injections. Most people can tolerate the few seconds of pain, especially when the rewards are so worth it.

Are there any side effects of Botox?

Every patient is different and most do not experience any side effects of note. But there are certainly situations related to side effects that are not to a patient’s satisfaction, and we will monitor any signs of side effects with you. Contact your dentist after your Botox treatment if you are experiencing anything out of the ordinary including droopiness of the skin or muscles and pain at the injection site. And if you have any questions or concerns at any step before, during, or after the process, don’t hesitate to give us a call so we can help you – 614-333-9498.

Are you interested in receiving Botox, be it for cosmetic reasons or to alleviate pain or discomfort associated with your dental/oral health? Lifetime Dental Health is a safe place to get Botox injections. Even if you are hesitant to give it a try, the fact that it is not a permanent solution means you can give Botox a chance and see if you like the results or if it works for you. There is no lifelong commitment or concern that you will look “overdone” or unnatural (when it comes to the popular cosmetic aspect of its use). We know what we are doing, and always use Botox properly, modestly, and professionally.

Think it over, do your research, discuss with others who’ve used Botox, and talk to Dr. Barry or Dr. Love about this alternative treatment during your next appointment. More and more people are turning to Botox for a world of reasons. You won’t be alone or a “guinea pig.” There has been a great deal of research done on the effects of Botox, and plenty of people have been thrilled with the remarkable results. Perhaps you will be the next person who can consider themselves pro-Botox!