Do you feel that your jaw or lower face is too wide? Has this wide feature bothered you for a while? Dr. Kenneth Kim, who is located at Dream Medical Group in Los Angeles, will simply reduce your jaw and your lower face with Botox – no surgery required.
This procedure is not a surgery but an injection of Botox to the masseter muscle. The masseter muscle often protrudes, which causes the jaw to be more pronounced and wide. Dr. Kim has performed numerous cases of non-invasive jaw reduction via Botox with much success. During your consultation, Dr. Kim will feel for your jaw muscle and see whether your jaw protrusion is due to masseter muscle hypertrophy or whether it is due to fat or simply skin hooding. Non-invasive jaw reduction by Botox is a simple and quick solution for patients who have a protruding jaw that is due to masseter muscle hypertrophy. The actual injection takes less than a few minutes to perform.
The patient will notice the effect within 1–2 weeks after the procedure.
For patients who would like to know more about non-invasive jaw reduction, please call Dr. Kim’s office to schedule an appointment to meet with him for a consultation. Dr. Kim will feel your jaw and determine whether you will benefit from the Botox jaw reduction procedure.
What are the causes of jaw hypertrophy or overgrowth?
Although there are numerous reasons why the jaw area may appear large or wide, there are key and important factors that cause them. The top five reasons why jaw hypertrophy or overgrowth occurs are:
- Masseter muscle enlargement or hypertrophy or overgrowth
- Jaw bone enlargement or overgrowth
- Soft tissue or fat overgrowth
- Skin and soft tissue sagging due to aging
- Clenching or grinding of teeth
PRIMARY CAUSE OF JAW HYPERTROPHY
Masseter muscle enlargement, hypertrophy or overgrowth can cause the side of the jaw to look wide. Many Asian patients have this jaw protrusion. Some believe that it may be due to a high fiber diet. Another theory is that Asians just simply have a wider facial bone structure. Therefore, they naturally have more protruding and wider jaw muscle. These patients are excellent candidates to have Botox to reduce the muscle. This masseter muscle hypertrophy may be detected by having the patient bite down. One will feel and see the muscle protruding.
SECOND CAUSE OF JAW HYPERTROPHY
The second cause of wide jaw is that the actual jaw bone has enlarged or overgrown. These patients would need surgery rather than Botox to decrease the wide lower face and jaw. There is a theory that continued use of Botox can make the mandible bone smaller. This theory is based on the fact that bone grows due to pressure or stress from gravity or muscle. For example, if one’s arm is in a cast, then the bone will actually get smaller. Therefore, the same concept applies to a patient getting Botox injection frequently to reduce the bone mass. However, patients should understand that this will take a long time to achieve.
THIRD CAUSE OF JAW HYPERTROPHY
The third case of the wide jaw or lower face is soft tissue or fat overgrowth. So in this case, it has nothing to do with the jaw muscle. Rather, the issue is the superficial layer of fat. Some patients naturally have more fat on the lower face. This can occur when the patient is young and has some baby fat. However, as patients age, some patients develop fat protrusion on the lower face. These patients will not benefit from Botox injection on the mandible or the lower face. These patients can benefit from laser fat removal.
FOURTH CAUSE OF JAW HYPERTROPHY
The fourth cause is skin loosening due to age. Sagging skin will cause the widening of the lower face. As the gravity works on the lower face, it is natural that skin will hang down. These patients are also not a candidate for Botox injection on the mandible or masseter muscle. These patients will benefit significantly from a facelift procedure or some sort of laser skin tightening.
FIFTH CAUSE OF JAW HYPERTROPHY
The last type of patients develops masseter or jaw muscle hypertrophy because they grind or clench their teeth. Many patients do not realize that they are grinding or clenching their teeth. This is because this action occurs while they are asleep. During this movement, the masseter muscle overgrows. These patients are an excellent candidate for Botox on the jaw muscle to decrease the size and strength of the master muscle. Patients will not only see improvement of their lower face but will also see an improvement in their jaw pain and teeth health.
Dr. Kenneth Kim, MD, FACS will determine the cause of your lower face widening. Dr. Kim will feel for your masseter muscle and see if you are a candidate for non-surgical jaw reduction.
You can achieve your slender or V-line face without surgery by receiving Botox on your jaw. This is a safe and simple method that will let you achieve a beautiful slender face without having to undergo surgery!
Area Corrected
A non-surgical reduction of the jaw with Botox will shrink the masseter muscle. The duration of the effect will begin about 2 weeks after your Botox injection. Your jaw muscle will slim down over time and the effect will last about 4-6 months. The overall lower face will appear smaller.
Dr. Kenneth Kim will examine your jaw muscle to see if you are a good candidate for non-surgical jaw reduction. This is based on a physical exam of the masseter muscle. Dr. Kim will determine right away after the exam and will recommend whether you should receive Botox to reduce the jaw or receive laser treatment to decrease the lower face fat.
By receiving non-surgical jaw reduction, you can see:
- Slender jaw
- V-shape lower face
- More attractive lower face
- Avoid the wide facial appearance
- Lessen teeth grinding
- Lessen clenching of teeth
- Relieve TMJ pain
- Relieve temporal headache
If you are unsatisfied with your wide lower face, there is a simple solution that does not require surgery. The procedure can be a simple treatment of Botox!
If you had Botox on your jaw muscle and the result was not satisfactory, Dr. Kim will determine why your face did not slim down. Make a consultation with Dr. Kenneth Kim for a free evaluation.
Am I a Candidate for Non-surgical jaw reduction?
There are two types of non-surgical jaw reduction candidates. One is a patient with an enlarged masseter. This hypertrophied jaw muscle will widen the face. These patients will benefit significantly from Botox injection. Botox will weaken the muscle and shrink the muscle. Therefore, you will notice a more slender face after the Botox injection.
The other candidate for non-surgical jaw reduction is a person with facial fat on the lower face.
Facial fat can be reduced with an internal laser called InMode. The laser will melt the fat and tighten the skin at the same time. InMode’s effect will take place 1 month after the procedure.
For patients who would like to know more about non-surgical jaw reduction, please call Dr. Kim’s office at Dream Medical Group in Los Angeles, California.
Non-Surgical Jaw Reduction Options
There are two options for non-surgical jaw reduction.
One is Botox injection to the jaw muscle. This is a simple solution for patients with hypertrophied or an enlarged jaw muscle. Botox will paralyze the jaw muscle and therefore the muscle will shrink. For patients without jaw muscle hypertrophy, Botox injection will still make the lower face slender and narrow.
The other option is an InMode laser treatment to the lower face. The laser will not only melt the fat, but it will also tighten the skin. InMode has a sensor on the surface of the skin. Thus, the machine will prevent the skin from getting too hot.
Dr. Kim will first evaluate the cause of the lower face protrusion. Then, he will recommend which non-surgical treatment will be the most ideal for narrowing the lower face.
Consultation
In-person consultations with Dr. Kenneth Kim are free. In this meeting, Dr. Kill will first ask questions about your facial development history, grinding or clenching history, and any discomfort or pain at the temporomandibular joint. Dr. Kim notes your age and whether you have excess jaw bone growth, masseter muscle hypertrophy, or soft tissue gain.
This will be determined by a physical exam at the office. For patients who do not live in the Los Angeles or Southern California area, Dr. Kim also offers a video consultation.
By looking at a patient’s face and asking pertinent questions, Dr. Kim will be able to note the cause of the lower face widening and whether you are a good candidate for non-invasive jaw reduction with Botox.
During the consultation, Dr. Kim will show before and after photos of patients who received Botox to reduce the jaw without surgery. By looking at many of these patient’s before and after photos, you will be able to see how your face should slim down.
Procedure
The Botox injection occurs at Dr. Kenneth Kim’s office and can be received at the time of the consultation. The amount of Botox injection is 50 units. This amount is divided into each side of the jaw. Therefore, each masseter receives 25 units of Botox. Dr. Kim will note the area of hypertrophy by asking the patient to bite down or clench the jaw. By feeling where the masseter muscle bulges, Dr. Kim will note the target area for Botox injection. Typically, three areas are injected on each masseter muscle. The most common area is the angle of the mandible. Then the other two Botox injection areas tend to be above and below the mandible.
For patients who are coming in for repeat Botox injection, the amount of Botox can be reduced to 33 units or 37 units. This is because the masseter or the jaw muscle is still shrunk down. Therefore, less Botox is needed to decrease jaw muscle protrusion.
In cases where lower face widening is due to fat or soft tissue accumulation, InMode laser will be used to shrink the fat and tighten the skin. Initially, a local anesthetic will be administered to numb up the lower face. Then, a small probe will be used to slim down the jaw and the neck area. The procedure takes about 30 minutes to complete.
Recovery from Non-surgical Jaw Reduction
There is no recovery from non-surgical jaw reduction with Botox. You can resume normal activity right away. That means you can eat or exercise after the procedure without any downtime!
For patients who received InMode laser treatment to reduce the lower face, the lower face will swell up for about 7 days. Therefore, laser patients may want to take off 1 week from work.
Results
The result from the non-invasive or non-surgical jaw reduction will occur 2 weeks after the procedure. This is because it takes time for the muscle to shrink down from decrease muscle use. The mechanism of Botox is to lessen the masseter muscle from being active. The inactive muscle will take time to decrease size.
The final result of Botox will occur 1 month after the procedure and last about 4-5 months.
The effect of the laser treatment of the lower face will occur 1 month after the procedure. The effect will continue and the final result will be 1 year from the procedure.
FAQ
WHAT IS NON-SURGICAL JAW REDUCTION?
The most common and simple method of non-surgical jaw reduction is Botox injection to the jaw muscle or the masseter muscle. This is an effective method to slim down the lower face without undergoing surgery. Applying Botox to the masseter muscle works by inhibiting or weakening the jaw muscle.
HOW LONG WILL NON-SURGICAL JAW REDUCTION LAST WITH BOTOX?
The effect will last anywhere from 4-5 months. It depends on whether you grind or clench your teeth during the day or while you sleep. It also depends on whether you eat hard to chew food – which will over-activate your jaw muscle. The more you use your jaw, the sooner the effect will disappear.
IS NON-SURGICAL JAW REDUCTION SAFE?
Non-surgical jaw reduction or mandible reduction with Botox is extremely safe. The procedure does not involve surgery or anesthesia. Therefore, there are minimal risks of this procedure. However, the procedure should be performed by a plastic surgeon as the plastic surgeon knows where the facial nerves travel on the lower face.
CAN NON-SURGICAL JAW REDUCTION REALLY MAKE MY FACE LOOK SKIMMER?
If your cause of lower face widening is due to jaw muscle or masseter muscle hyperactivity, then Botox will make your face slimmer. However, if your lower face is due to jaw bone overgrowth, then the effect of the Botox will be minimal.
WHEN DO I HAVE TO REPEAT BOTOX TREATMENT TO REDUCE MY JAW AREA?
Patients typically repeat the procedure about 4-5 months after the initial Botox injection. However, if you feel that your lower face looks slim after that time and you like the way it looks, then you do not have to repeat the Botox treatment. Some patients may want to repeat 1-2 years later. It all depends on how much you use your lower face muscle while you are awake and while you sleep!
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