After jaw Botox, will the result get ruined if I use my jaw muscles right away and chew hard food like carrots?

After Botox for masseter reduction, you will be able to eat normally right away.  It may take 1-2 weeks to see your final results after your procedure. Best, Dr. Emer

While I don't believe that “exercising” your jaw by chewing hard foods such as carrots will make your Botox treatment less effective, I would advise you to avoid doing anything to build up the masseter muscle again. First, we do ask our patients to refrain from exercise for 24 hours after Botox  – no matter where they're treated. Second, giving your jaw a “workout” by eating difficult, chewy foods may build up that masseter muscle that you just used Botox to slim. Feel free to eat normally, but limit chewy bagels, dried sausage, jerky, gum and yes, hard carrots – anything that could begin building up the muscle again. Please see a board-certified dermatologist to have your jaw slimmed with Botox. 

Having BOTOX® injected into your masseter is a considered to be a safe way to minimize the prominence of your jaw. People are usually asked to avoid exercise immediately following a BOTOX® injection to prevent it from migrating to other areas of the face. This is not as much of a risk when it comes to the chin and jaw area. However, over time, a lot of chewing, particularly when it comes to very hard foods, could eventually cause the related muscles to enlarge.

Thank you for your
question. No, you may eat normally after you receive Botox treatment for the
masseters. Remember it can take up 2 weeks to see you final results. Best of
Luck!

      

 Hi There, The honest truth is that masseter is a large muscle and using that muscle to chew will not decrease the effectiveness of the Botox treatment.  The reason why we ask people not to exercise after Botox is because we do not want the Botox to drift and potentially drop an eyelid (ptosis) when treating the forehead area.  Good luck, Dr. Downie

So I am assuming that you had jaw injections in to your main chewing muscle, the masseter. There is no evidence to say that chewing straight away will ruin your results. However, I am concerned as to why you would want to continue eating hard crunchy carrots! If these have been a main part of your diet for a long while, they may be the reason why your masseter muscles are over developed in the first place. So by continuing to over work them, may defeat the purpose of having the injections. Alternatively, you may find that you will notice a reduction in the strength of your bite and will avoid carrots for a while!

It is extremely unlikely that the expected results of your Botox would be affected by chewing.  I do tell my patients they should not engage in strenuous exercise after injections regardless of the area treated.   It is important not to chew gum on a regular basis if you are trying to reduce the size of the master muscles.  When the Botox takes effect (10-14 days) you may see some visible reduction which will be transient but to truly reduce the size of the muscle you must have repeated injection to cause true atrophy.



Dr. Berdy

Hello beabea91,Thank you for sharing your question and concern. There is a very low risk your Botox treatment to the masseter muscle will be "ruined" by chewing carrots or other such foods after injection. This is a very large muscle and the likelihood of it spreading to an area of unintended injection unlikely as opposed to very small muscles around the eyes, forehead and between the eyes.

Thank you for
your question beabea91. Botox is
a purified protein used to address wrinkles associated with facial expression. In the lower face Botox can be placed in the masseter muscle to contour the face and address symptoms associated with TMJ such as pain. Using the treated muscles should not affect the results. I recommend that my patient avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours after the treatment such as running (or anything else that increases the heart rate) because the blood can come to the skin and there is the possibility that it moves the Botox, leading to side effects such as droopy eyelids. Please consult with
a doctor for specific recommendations. Good luck!

This should have no effect on your results. When getting Botox in other areas, it is recommended not to exercise so as not to overheat and potentially spread the Botox. I don't think that excessive chewing will affect the results negatively. In fact, it might distribute the Botox more and help with the results.