Do you suffer from chronic facial or jaw pain? Since you use the hinges in your jaw to move your upper and lower jaw all day so you can eat, speak, swallow, you are likely looking for some relief. For those patients who have pain in their temporomandibular joint (TMJ), we offer BOTOX® injections to help find that relief.

TMJ Botulinum Toxin Therapy

TMJ Botulinum Toxin Therapy has helped many patients just like you find pain relief. BOTOX® is essentially a muscle relaxer using a neurotoxin called onabotulinumtoxinA that temporarily paralyzes your facial/jaw muscle.

There are a variety of treatment methods for TMJ pain impacting the joints on both sides of your head where the jawbone meets your mandible or jaw. It can sometimes be helped by receiving the BOTOX® injection to relieve jaw tension for temporomandibular joint disorders. By injecting BOTOX® into your sore facial muscles, your jaw discomfort can be measurably relieved as it makes your muscles incapable of moving the jaw unconsciously if you are a clencher. If you are someone who constantly grinds their teeth, BOTOX® relaxes the muscles to get rid of your tension headaches. When you are stressed, it can even help prevent painful lockjaw from occurring.

It is injected into the masseter muscle on the side of your face connecting your cheekbone to your lower jawbone so you can chew normally and is referred to as a masseter BOTOX® or jaw BOTOX®. The toxin works by blocking the nerve signals in the masseter muscle so it can’t move.

As a non-surgical and non-invasive treatment, BOTOX® injections for TMJ disorders and jaw tension can be applied quickly for an effective solution to chronic pain. The treatment can be done in our doctor’s office, and you will likely gain relief within the first two days of having your treatment. In some patients, the discomfort may linger a little bit longer as the BOTOX® gets to work.

What To Expect With the Injection

The injection can be done within 10-30 minutes. While the injection might feel uncomfortable, your discomfort is typically short and minimal. We have heard patients describe it as feeling like a prick or bug bite. We can also numb the injection site using a cold pack or an anesthetic cream.

After the Botulinum Toxin TMJ treatment, you may notice that any muscle tenderness you had in your jaw will generally diminish right away. You may experience some temporary numbness and bruising around the area of the injection. You can typically resume your normal daily activities after your treatment, although it is recommended not to massage or rub the injection site and avoid lying down for several hours. It will help keep the toxin from traveling to other areas.

Any side effects you might experience are usually minimal and infrequent, such as pain or redness at the injection site during the first week. It is possible for some people to have side effects like headache, flu-like symptoms, drooling or a crooked smile.

Since the effects of BOTOX® are temporary, they will generally last you around 3 to 4 months, after which you will need to have the BOTOX® treatment done again. However, for those who find relief from this treatment method, many people find it worth having done! We welcome you to reach out to our team if you are experiencing problems with your TMJ or jaw pain. We are here to help in any way we can, offering a variety of treatment options for you!