Heavy clinchers/grinders can sometimes have their lower face wider due to excessive muscle contractions that cause enlargement/hypertrophy of the masseter or jaw muscles. As with any muscle that enlarges with exercise, these muscles also get enlarged and since they are located in the face area, the face will also look enlarged at its lower angles. One may not be aware of this enlargement because it is a slowly developing process and/or even correlate it the grinding habit. Since Botox® and Dysport® work by weakening the muscle that it is injected into, the muscle will eventually become smaller by the mere fact that it is no longer in involuntary excessive use and contraction. The amount of Botox® or Dysport® used for the jaw sculpting procedure is usually significantly more than that used to smooth out wrinkles on the face. When Botox® or Dysport® is injected into the muscles, the grinding or clenching will cease within a week. However, the aesthetic/cosmetic effect of the jaw slimming injections usually takes approximately 3-4 weeks before one notices an obvious reduction in the width of the jaw and will continue to take effect in weeks 4-8. Not everyone is a good candidate for this procedure because they may not have prominent jaw muscles The “jaw slimming” effect lasts 4-5 months in which sometimes a repeat injection session in cases where grinding recurs will be required at that time in order to maintain the visual effect. Sometimes the use of a night mouth guard excludes the need for a Botox injection and also leads to jaw tapering effect, but on a longer period of use.
