Botox®

Skin changes with time and many of these changes can make you appear older than you really are. Wrinkles and fine lines begin to show up on your forehead and around your eyes, for example, which can add years to your face. Botox® can make some of these fine lines and wrinkles disappear to restore your youthful appearance.

Every time you smile, frown, purse your lips, raise your eyebrows, squint your eyes, or furrow your brows, the muscles in your face pull your skin in different directions. Many of these facial expressions cause your skin to bunch up on your forehead, between your eyebrows, and at the edges of your eyes. Youthful skin is very elastic, so it springs back to its original position, but creasing the skin repeatedly over time causes wrinkles to form.

Botox® can temporarily improve the look of severe frown lines, crow’s feet and forehead lines in adults. Preventative Botox® can also stop wrinkles before they start.

Injected into targeted areas of the skin, Botox® works by temporarily relaxing the facial muscles that cause wrinkles around the eyes and the forehead. Specifically, it blocks the nerve signals that tell the muscles to move, so the muscles do not contract. Since the muscles do not move, the skin does not bunch up and wrinkle. Relaxing the muscles in this way also makes wrinkles less noticeable.

Botox® is a prescription drug made from botulinum toxin, a protein made by bacteria. In the late 1960s and 1970s, scientists realized they could use derivatives of the toxin for medical purposes. The FDA has now approved Botox® for a number of medical conditions, such as chronic migraines and urinary incontinence. The FDA has also approved Botox® for treating crow’s feet, which are the lateral wrinkles that spread out from the corners of your eyes.

What to Expect with Botox®

The Botox® procedure takes only a few minutes and does not require anesthesia. Your healthcare provider at DFW Oral Surgeons will use a small needle to inject a small amount of Botox® into specific muscles. The procedure causes only minor discomfort.

It typically takes 7 to 14 days to see the full results of Botox®. The effects from a single Botox® injection should last for three to six months. In time, muscle action returns – and so will the lines and wrinkles. However, the lines and wrinkles should appear less severe with each session, as the treatment causes the muscles to shrink slowly.

Botox® can help you achieve and maintain a more youthful appearance by erasing fine lines and wrinkles, and by preventing new lines and wrinkles from forming. For more information about Botox®, and to find out if this safe and effective treatment is right for you, contact DFW Oral Surgeons. To learn more about this procedure, or to schedule an appointment at our office, please give us here at DFW Oral Surgeons a call today at (972) 210-0594!