Botox To Slim Jaw Muscles
Yes, you CAN use Botox to slim jaw muscles. The muscles on the side of the jaws are called the masseter muscles. These muscles are called elevator muscles, as they act during contraction to lift or elevate the jaw, closing the jaw down to compress or chew food. If your diet includes very tough foods that require a lot of force to chew, or if you chew gum frequently, then these muscles can get very large and even flare out on the sides. Some ethnic groups also tend to have larger muscles or a more square jawlines, so to change this appearance, Botox can help.
Botox Inhibits Activity
The most common confusion is if Botox will make it impossible to chew. While this might seem logical, it is actually not a risk. Botox simply reduces the amount of force that the jaws can create. The masseter muscles are large muscles with many “motor units” (the combination of nerve endings and muscle fibers), and a normal dose of botox cannot completely inhibit the entire muscle. For ease of discussion, let’s just say the jaws create 100 units of force. With Botox, the muscles can now create only 60 units of force (this isn’t an exact measure, it’s just to illustrate the point). This amount of activity allows normal function, but at a reduced intensity.
Muscles Shrink When Not Used
Why does Botox “shrink jaw muscles”? It actually doesn’t. Botox simply reduces activity, and it is the reduced activity that leads to smaller muscles. The best example of this is a gym membership. If you went to the gym every day and worked out, your muscles would get larger. As long as you kept going to the gym, your muscles would stay large. If your membership ended and you quit going to the gym, your muscles would eventually shrink in size. This would not happen overnight, however. The smaller size will take some time to happen.So with a goal to shrink muscles by using botox, one must be patient. The initial treatment will have very little to NO noticeable effects, and just as things may start to be noticed, the effects of botox will start to wear off. On average, 3 months is how long the effects last before another treatment is needed. To be sure to get the best results, another dose or treatment should be done at 2.5 months.
3-4 Treatments Before a Slimmer Jawline
It takes patience and commitment to get a slimmer jawline. If treatments are done every 2.5 months, it is normal to see a slimmer jaw at the 3rd or 4th treatment, or about 8-10 months after starting treatment. Before deciding on this, be sure this fits in your budget and schedule, or else you will feel as if you wasted both your time and money.
Schedule a Botox Consultation
The best way to decide if this treatment is for you is to schedule an exam and consultation with Dr Timmerman. This way he can explain how botox works and if you are a good candidate for this treatment. Call 206-241-5533 today!
