I got Botox injected into my masseter muscles about 5 days ago and I believe it has made my masseter muscles even bigger.

Thank you for your question. Botox or Dysport can be a very effective way to contour the jaw line by reducing the masseter shadow through the outer jaw skin. In addition, it can reduce symptoms of jaw clenching or grinding of teeth at night time. This is an advanced technique that requires a strong understanding of the underlying anatomy. Some side effects can results in some very unintented effects. This can include affecting the smile due to diffusion of the Botox into neighboring smile muscles. Over treatment can also overweaken your jaw muscles making it harder to chew food and causes your jaw muscles to relax too much when you sleep.The injection technique does vary by physical exam and the goals of the treatment. Facial contouring goals may change the injection sites themselves to affect different portions of the masseter as well as the dose. The strength of the masseters can be felt by palpation and also helps me to determine dosing. In general, I start with 15- 25 units of Botox (OR 50-75 units of Dysport) per side for most patients. If they have very strong masseters, then I may increase the dose, but more commonly ask them to return in three weeks for a touch up. If you notice one area bulge after the procedure, then a small dose may be required to quiet that portion of muscle. Once you get the desired result, I let patients know that future treatments may require less to maintain the look or the jaw clenching symptoms, especially if they get treated as soon as they notice the symptoms return. This can be as soon as three to four months, but in some cases, patients report that it lasts six months or more. I find it depends on the dose we use and how many times we have done the procedure as the duration may lengthen for patients that repeat it regularly.

Typically there are 3 injections administered to treat the masseter muscle. Speak with your injecting physician to discuss your results or obtain a second opinion. Best, 

This happens on occasion and is easily remediable by returning to your injecting doctor and have him/her place 5U into the bulge. It may resolve on its own but generally I have my own patients return for this. We have been performing this since 1999 and have the largest reported series at the time we first introduced the technique to North America.

Treating this large muscle can be very rewarding aesthetically as well as clinically.  Most practitioners will use a 4-5 injection sites per muscle in a dice-like pattern directly into the bulging portion of the muscle.  Having only one injection site can limit the full effects of your treatment as well as lead to more muscle tenderness and swelling by placing all the solution/product into one injection site. We recommend following up with your injector for an assessment.  Although the benefits of treating this area is slow and progressive, your practitioner will be able to determine if there are any causes for concern and how to monitor your outcomes.  The link below will offer more feedback as well as before and after photos of our jaw reduction patients in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Botox can take up to 2 weeks to see its effects. The masseter is a large muscle, so depending on how many units you got in the first session, you may require more to achieve your desired effect. The enlargement you are describing may be related to swelling or some bleeding with hematoma formation in the deep tissues. You should schedule a follow up appointment with your injector to have your concerns addressed. Good luck to you.