About Face

Posted: Thursday 1 July 2010 02:44pm

A treatment that can prevent teeth clenching and grinding – thus reduce jaw, neck, head and dental bill pain – as well as streamline the jaw and restore the face to a proportionately more youthful contour …

Surely this is as good as anti-ageing gets!

Doctors and dentists are now using muscle relaxant injectables such as Botox to rein in the jaw muscles – masseters – from overdrive, with myriad health and aesthetic benefits.

While a “squaring” of the lower face is often a casualty of the ageing process, overactive masseters can hasten the process, even in younger people, in the same way as a bodybuilder acquires an overly pumped physique.

“Botox at high doses weakens the [jaw] muscle substantially and as a result it shrinks,” says Sydney plastic surgeon Dr Michael Miroshnik, speaking of the striking transformation of a 20-something female patient, Samantha (who also had Sub Q dermal filler injections in her cheeks).

“It narrowed the width of her lower facial third – a wide lower facial third is often a sign of ageing and throws facial proportions into disharmony.”

Dr Gavin Chan of the Victorian Cosmetic Institute in Melbourne, says that although the majority of patients who come to him for the procedure do so for “vanity” reasons – to restore the face to its heart-shaped, or triangular proportion of youth and reduce the jowling effect of age – the health benefits are legion.

As well as alleviating neck, head and jaw pain, the teeth are not as exposed to the extreme wear and tear caused by clenching and grinding.

“The amount of Botox used for this procedure can cost between $800-$1500, but consider that one dental crown may cost $5000. If a number of teeth are damaged, we’re talking a great deal more money,” says Dr Chan. “You do the maths.”

Botox for this application may take longer to “kick in” – up to two weeks later – than in other areas of the face and body, but also may last slightly longer; six months or more.

As there is a risk of making it difficult for patients to chew, cosmetic physician Peter Bakaric of Sydney’s Collagen Face Centre says he prefers to err on the side of caution in the first procedure and have a patient back a month or two later, if necessary, for further injections.

The streamlining effect of the lower jaw – which makes the cheeks look relatively fuller; another ant-ageing benefit – may take up to a month to be evident, as the muscles atrophy (or weaken).

by Jenni Gilbert

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