Involuntary clenching and grinding of the teeth is known as bruxism. Bruxism can occur in the daytime, but also during sleep. A sleeping person does not always realise they are clenching or grinding their teeth, nor the force they exert on their teeth, which can result in damage to the teeth along with other symptoms. 

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Bruxism can cause a number of issues and a lot of pain, suffering from bruxism you may experience the following symptoms: 

• Teeth grinding/clenching

• Face, neck and shoulder pain

• Jaw pain/ache, which can lead to temporomandibular disorder (TMD)

• Broken/worn down teeth, leading to increased sensitivity and loss of teeth/fillings

• Morning headaches

• Earache

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Botulinum Toxin A (such as Allergan Botox®) is a neurotoxin produced from Clostridium Botulinum bacteria. It is a quick and simple treatment to relieve the pain and reduce the hypertrophied masseter muscles. It can be injected deep into the masseter muscle to relax it just enough to reduce the pain and symptoms. This relieves the jaw/face pain and headaches associated with bruxism but it does not interfere with chewing or eating. It has the added bonus of reducing the size of the masseter muscle due to it being contracted less, and over time this has the effect of making the lower face and jaw slimmer. Many people with wide jaws can have enlarged (hypertrophied) masseter muscles without realising, because they may not be aware that they are teeth clenching in their sleep. Botox treatment for Bruxism is an “off label” use, but is a well recognised, safe, effective treatment.