Many patients with TMJ pain often present in our office having had Botox injections as a means to help them with their facial or TMJ pain symptoms. Botox is simply a “bandaid” that often masks the pain as opposed to treating the true cause of the TMJ issue. Even if patients are on Botox, they often still have some symptoms which why they are seeking treatment or they do not want to live on Botox. The objective of neuromuscular TMJ treatment is position the teeth and neck to the correct physioligic position for comfort and long term health.
If patients have had Botox, TMJ treatment can still be started as the first step in treatment is start working towards refining and working to find and stabilize the craniocervicular system. No long term treatment should be completed until the Botox is completely worn off. The debate is still on with the merits of Botox as helping the patient heal faster. It seems that the use of Botox makes other muscles work harder and can cause further imbalance and other issues. On the other hand, perhaps it can be used to help acute TMJ pain on a limited basis.
In overview, we see Botox overused for TMJ pain especially since most of these cases can be treated and be symptom free without the long term use of drugs.
If you have any quesitons about Houston Neuromuscular TMJ or TMJ Dentist Houston, please feel free to contact our office, Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD LVIF, 713-668-2289
