In the 1970s, Ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Scott experimented with botulinum toxin as a treatment for eye impairments. In 1978, he successfully used it to treat a patient’s eye muscles after surgery for retinal detachment. Since then, these BOTOX injections have been used for medical and aesthetic purposes, but many people have wrong ideas of how they work. Here’s a brief guide to a few popular falsehoods about BOTOX as well as the truths they conceal.
Falsehood 1: BOTOX Injections Hurt
Many people are anxious about injections in general, so it’s understandable that some would believe that BOTOX treatments are especially painful. The truth is that most patients report that BOTOX injections only involve a slight pinch that hardly feels like receiving a shot at all. This treatment is so painless that no anesthetics are necessary.
Falsehood 2: BOTOX Injections Paralyze Your Face
If you’ve watched TV in the past few decades, you’ve probably seen a few comedic portrayals of BOTOX patients being left with frozen, doll-like faces. While these depictions can certainly be funny, they are not true to life. Rather than causing muscles to stiffen, BOTOX injections cause them to relax. Receiving this treatment from a skilled professional will leave your face completely capable of displaying a full range of emotional expressions.
Falsehood 3: BOTOX Treatments Are Dangerous
While receiving too much botulinum toxin is not good for your health, the FDA has approved BOTOX for a number of uses such as addressing wrinkles, migraines, TMJ conditions, back and neck pain, and even eye misalignments. BOTOX has a long history of safe and effective treatments, and a patient would have to receive more than one hundred times the average dose at once to experience any toxic reactions.
Falsehood 4: BOTOX Makes Wrinkles Worse
The results of BOTOX treatment are not permanent and will eventually wear off, making it necessary to receive touch-up injections to maintain them. While your wrinkles will come back after you stop receiving BOTOX injections, they will not be any worse than they would have if you had not received the treatment at all. In fact, the treatment may prevent them from getting worse, leaving you with wrinkles less prominent than they would be otherwise. If you haven’t received these injections in a while, you will only need to resume treatment to get rid of your wrinkles again.
BOTOX is a safe treatment that can deliver remarkable results. After a brief consultation, your dentist will be able to tell if this treatment can be a good fit for you.
About the Author
Dr. Hannah Corcoran earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery at Ohio State University and is certified in BOTOX, dermal fillers, and Kybella treatments. She is proud to be a member of the American Dental Association, the Ohio Dental Association, and the American Academy of Facial Esthetics. Her offices in Waverly and Peebles offer general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as BOTOX treatments. To schedule a BOTOX consultation, contact her practice online.