When you hear someone say they’ve had Botox, you expect to see smooth eyes or maybe some frozen foreheads. While Botox is most popular for smoothing away fine lines and wrinkles, it’s also widely used for pain management for an ailment that affects millions of people: temporomandibular joint dysfunction, or TMJ. If you’ve ever heard someone complain of TMJ pain, they could be referring to a wide variety of issues related to pain in the jaw area.
The majority of our TMJ patients experience pain due to grinding or clenching their teeth, usually subconsciously, during sleep or while awake.
Botox works by relaxing the overworked and often inflamed muscles in your jaw and head. When the muscles are able to calm down, many patients see a vast improvement in their quality of sleep and daily life. They usually report fewer headaches, less jaw and temple pain, and better oral health.
If you’re a teeth grinder, sometimes your teeth can be so ground down that they expose the nerves inside them, causing extreme pain. By using Botox to stop the grinding motion from occurring in the first place, you can prevent damage and save your teeth from needing extensive work in the future.
If you suffer from headaches or jaw pain and want fast relief, Botox may be the answer. Procedures last just a few minutes and patients report feeling their pain subside within just a few days. Botox for TMJ is minimally invasive, which means no surgery and little downtime, so you can get back to doing the things you love immediately.
Want to learn more about Botox for TMJ? Join us on Thursday, September 19 at 5:30 p.m. for drinks, appetizers, and a casual informational session about Botox and other pain management procedures we offer for headaches and jaw pain. Please RSVP online at pstulsa.com or call us at 918-863-2474. See you then!