Masseter Botox for bruxism - I can say they do work!

If you're a religious grinder like me, do yourself a favor and look into masseter Botox injections to help yourself from future dental damages. You won't realize how much damage you're doing to those teeth until it’s too late to reverse them. It have caused me so much emotional pain, even more stress from all the damage that it's hard to believe what I had experienced and gone through. Not to mention the excessive amount of money I had to fork out over and over again to constantly keep up with fixing the damages. I've stopped having anything caffeinated for many years now because I know that they do trigger my jaw clenching even more so. I try not to stress in my daily life but unfortunately my mind does so subconsciously without my consent anyway. / Bruxism is out of our control so thank goodness for something like Botox to come along in this day and age. So yes, I can now call this Botox my savior!

I'm not too sure what the long term effects will cause since I'm probably one who will need it....forever?! For now, as long as it works for me, I am more willing to continue with the treatment. Sad to say my earlier career was in the dental field and even then there was not much I could have done to prevent my bruxism. Night guards have only helped so much.

My dentist was the person who initially suggested the masseter injections but the reason why I chose Dr. Kwon to do so is because for one: he's a board certified plastic surgeon who is familiar with the facial structure & familiar with Botox injections. Secondly: my dentist just barely got her Botox certification and I certainly don't want to be her first guinea pig. I understand that dentists do anesthetic injections all day long but bottom line, I do not want to be her guinea pig for Botox. Maybe I’ll come to trust her one day when she's more experienced, just not now.
I'm ok with needles anywhere to the body but I get a little nervous any time its needle to my face. Especially something like Botox that is irreversible for months. You know, it just takes one wrong poke. :/

My injection was done about 4 months ago. I could be wrong with this but I believe Dr. Kwon injected about 25 units to each side of my face. It took roughly 2 weeks for me to finally notice I stopped clenching my teeth during the day. I won't know if I do or not anymore at night time because obviously I'm asleep. I was never one to wake up with headaches anyway or either that I've been living with bruxism for so long so the feeling of tensions in my jaw muscles have become a normal thing. It’s been 4 months since my first injection and I can say they do work!

Now here's another thing about Botox to the masseter muscles. It has slimmed down my face quite a bit. If you're one of those who likes that slimmer v-line face frame. I feel like I've lost a little definition to my more original squared jawline. My jawline now sort of blends in with my neck. I already have a naturally pointy chin to begin with so now it looks even pointier with the masseter muscles being slimmed down. I'm still up in the air about how I really feel about that. Though it’s not a big deal considering the benefit of what it’s actually doing for grinding. It’s recommended that you get them every 6 months. The injections felt like little pinches, no pain, really. This was actually my first Botox experience or anything injected to my face for that matter. I didn't have any bruising or swelling besides minor soreness for a day, along with little red dots where the needle was injected. I'm sure there will come a day when I'll need Botox in other areas (and/or fillers) which I won't hesitate to trust Dr. Kwon again for them! He's very gentle which made my very first Botox injection quite comfortable. Thanks, Doc!