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Posts for tag: tmj disorders

By Royer Family Dentistry
April 24, 2020
Category: Dental Procedures
Tags: tmj disorders   jaw pain  
ThinkTwiceBeforeConsideringBotoxforChronicJawPainRelief

Chronic jaw pain can be an unnerving experience that drains the joy out of life. And because of the difficulty in controlling it patients desperate for relief may tread into less-tested treatment waters.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a group of conditions affecting the joints connecting the lower jaw to the skull and their associated muscles and tendons. The exact causes are difficult to pinpoint, but stress, hormones or teeth grinding habits all seem to be critical factors for TMD.

The most common way to treat TMD is with therapies used for other joint-related problems, like exercise, thermal (hot and cold) applications, physical therapy or medication. Patients can also make diet changes to ease jaw function or, if appropriate, wear a night guard to reduce teeth grinding.

These conservative, non-invasive therapies seem to provide the widest relief for the most people. But this approach may have limited success with some patients, causing them to consider a more radical treatment path like jaw surgery. Unfortunately, surgical results haven't been as impressive as the traditional approach.

In recent years, another treatment candidate has emerged outside of traditional physical therapy, but also not as invasive as surgery: Botox injections. Botox is a drug containing botulinum toxin type A, which can cause muscle paralysis. Mostly used in tiny doses to cosmetically soften wrinkles, Botox injections have been proposed to paralyze certain jaw muscles to ease TMD symptoms.

Although this sounds like a plausible approach, Botox injections have some issues that should give prospective patients pause. First, Botox can only relieve symptoms temporarily, requiring repeated injections with increasingly stronger doses. Injection sites can become painful, bruised or swollen, and patients can suffer headaches. At worst, muscles that are repeatedly paralyzed may atrophy, causing among other things facial deformity.

The most troubling issue, though, is a lack of strong evidence (outside of a few anecdotal accounts) that Botox injections can effectively relieve TMD symptoms. As such, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve its use for TMD treatment.

The treatment route most promising for managing TMD remains traditional physical and drug therapies, coupled with diet and lifestyle changes. It can be a long process of trial and error, but your chances for true jaw pain relief are most likely down this well-attested road.

If you would like more information on treating jaw disorders, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Botox Treatment for TMJ Pain.”

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By Royer Family Dentistry
February 17, 2017
Category: Dental Procedures
Tags: tmj disorders  
KnowtheFactsBeforeConsideringBotoxforJawJointPain

If you have chronic jaw joint pain you may have heard of using Botox to relieve discomfort from temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Before you seek out this remedy, though, be sure you know the facts beforehand.

TMD is actually a group of conditions affecting the joints, muscles and overall structures of the jaw. People with TMD often experience sharp pain and reduced range of motion of the jaw joints. Although we don't know the exact causes, we believe stress (accompanied often by teeth grinding habits) is a major factor for many patients.

Treatments run the spectrum from conservative to aggressive. Conservative treatments include cold and heat packs, therapeutic exercises, and muscle pain or relaxant medication. On the more aggressive side, patients undergo surgery to reorient the lower jaw. Most people gain a significant amount of relief from conservative therapies; the results aren't as positive with surgery.

Botox falls on the aggressive side of treatments. Approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic uses, the drug contains botulinum toxin type A, a bacterial toxin that can cause muscle paralysis. It's often injected into facial structures to paralyze small muscles and temporarily “smooth out” wrinkle lines. Only recently has it been proposed to help relieve jaw pain.

The jury, however, is still out on its effectiveness with jaw pain. The double-blind testing performed thus far hasn't produced any relevant clinical results that the injections actually work with TMD.

And there are other complications. Some people injected with Botox encounter pain, bruising or swelling at the injection site, and some have severe headaches afterward. Botox is also a temporary solution, not a permanent cure — you'll need another injection a few months later to maintain the effect. You might even develop antibodies that diminish the drug's effect and require higher subsequent doses to compensate.

This and other concerns should give you pause before seeking out this remedy. The best strategy is to try the traditional treatments first, which are also the least invasive. If there's no significant relief, then talk to us and your physician about other options.

If you would like more information on treatment options for TMD, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Botox Treatment for TMJ Pain.”

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