I Got Botox In My Jaw & Here’s What Happened

owen,



I’ve always been a fan of Botox – even though I’ve never done it. I think people should be able to whatever they want to their face/body…even if that may look different for everyone. Personally, I never thought I truly needed Botox, BUT I started looking into it after I read about the benefits if you have TMJ.

It wasn’t until like 2 years ago that I realized I have major jaw issues. I had been seeing a new dentist, and he randomly asked me if my jaw hurt. I didn’t think anything of it until I actually started to think about it. My jaw did REALLY EFFING HURT. It would click when I opened it, and almost feel like it was unhinged. I tried the night guard route, but I’m horrible with being consistent with it, and at this point, it probably wouldn’t even fit my mouth. So when I read that Botox could actually help TMJ, I was definitely interested.

It just so happened that recently, a new studio opened in the city,




Tonic




. They have a modern approach to aging, and provide a guide to formulate a personalized plan for you. What I loved about Tonic is that they’ve partnered with Dr. Hadley King, a board-certified dermatologist who specializes in medical and cosmetic dermatology. She is a highly educated dermatologist, and that was a big selling factor for me.

In full disclosure, I partnered with Tonic to create some content for Instagram and their social media channels. But since I had such a great experience, I wanted to write a full blog post about it!


Symptoms From My TMJ

I learned that TMJ is very much triggered by stress – both physical and emotional. When I’m stressed my jaw muscles are the first to tense up. Some of the symptoms/pain I experience is:

  • Sore jaw
  • Pain around my neck and ears
  • Clicking noise in my jaw when I open and close
  • Clenching
  • Grinding
  • Ringing my my ears


Benefits of Botox for TMJ

I don’t know if it was all in my head, but once I got Botox in my jaw, I immediately felt relief. Botox literally just relaxes your muscles. I worked with Dr. King to determine what would be best in terms of the number of injections that I would benefit from the most. Over the last month, I noticed a significant decrease in the clenching of my jaw, and I can open/close my mouth with no pain. Since I’ve gotten Botox, I want to make sure my muscles stay as relaxed as possible so here are some tips:

  • Yoga and deep breathing
  • Be cognizant of my posture
  • Recognize when I’m clenching my jaw and work to relax it
  • Focus on keeping teeth apart when not eating
  • Avoid sticky/tough foods.

Did you know you can relieve pain from TMJ with Botox?!? If you’re in the NYC area, I highly recommend Dr. Hadley King at Tonic Studio. I know I’ll definitely be back!



photos by allie provost

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