Everything You Need to Know About Masseter Muscle Botox

When scrolling though social media recently you may have noticed an influx in videos about ‘Masseter Muscle Botox’, the latest ‘it’ tweakment, promising benefits beyond just cosmetic appearance for those suffering with bruxism and jaw clenching. By placing muscle relaxing injections such as Botox into the Masseter Muscle people have found that their jaw clenching and teeth grinding greatly reduced, resulting in a reduction in pain and headaches and even a slimmer face!

TikTok is full of videos of people sharing their experiences of having the tweakment done, some amassing hundreds of thousands of views! However, it isn’t without debate in the comments. Some people loved the results of the treatment saying it changed their lives whilst others didn’t have the same experience, commenting that they were left looking jowly or lopsided.

Whenever a tweatment pickups steam on social media there is bound to be an increase in people seeking it out for themselves, so it is important they have all the best information available to them to make an informed decision about whether it is right for them! We decided it was best to get an expert opinion on this, so we asked Dr Asha Chhaya, Senior Medical Injector at sk:n clinics for the run down on the new it tweakment…

What is Masseter Muscle Botox? What is it primary use?

The masseter muscle is a large facial muscle that plays a significant role in chewing. There are instances when this muscle can become overdeveloped, resulting in a bulky appearance of the lower part of the face and symptoms such as headaches and jaw pain, commonly known as Temporomandibular disorder. Muscle relaxing injections act as a muscle relaxant, placing muscle relaxing injections into these muscles can help to ease these symptoms while also treating hypertrophy. When treatment is maintained over a period of time, usually 12-18 months, a slimming effect on the lower part of the face can be seen.

Can it improve migraines?

In some cases, tension in the masseter muscles can contribute to migraines and therefore treating this muscle with muscle relaxing injections can help to reduce the occurrence of migraines if it is a contributing factor.

Can having muscle relaxing injections in the masseter muscle slim the face?

Certainly, muscle relaxing injections are effective in slimming the face, but only if the masseter muscle is overdeveloped. If you clench your teeth and notice these muscles become more visible, muscle relaxing injections treatment could help. However, for anyone considering this treatment, I recommend consulting with a medical injector who has expertise in treating masseter muscles so they can accurately determine the suitability of this treatment.

Some people on TikTok have said that this tweakment resulted in their face appearing more ‘jowly’, who is the most suitable face type and shape for this tweakment?

This is not something I typically see with my patients. However, when masseter treatment is administered without a clear indication, or when there is an indication but the muscles are overtreated, the muscles may become "too relaxed" and cease to support the structures above them, making jowling appear worse. This is why it is incredibly important that anyone considering this treatment visits a medical injector who can carry out a comprehensive facial assessment to see if this treatment would provide a positive benefit. My experience in dentistry and my ability to assess each individual's unique anatomy allows me to not only alleviate the discomfort that can occur from overactive masseter muscles but also to provide an aesthetically pleasing result.

Some people also found that the tweakment made their face and smile appear lopsided? Why is this? Are there any risks associated with this treatment?

In comparison to the upper face, the lower face has many overlapping muscles, so treating this area can be a bit more challenging. Inadvertently injecting the wrong muscle can result in an asymmetrical smile, i.e. a lopsided smile. To help reduce the risk of potential complications associated with muscle relaxing injections treatments, it is essential to visit an experienced medical injector who is knowledgeable about facial anatomy.