Will botox for jaw reduction cause your face to become very stiff?

Doctor's Answers 2

The main side effects of Botox/Dysport/Xeomin is when the botox:

1. Diffuses to surrounding muscles

2. Is placed in the correct muscle, but the dosage is too high

For masseter reduction with botox:

1. If the botox diffuses to the muscle in front, called the risorus, your smile will be affected and becomes asymmetrical. This gives rise to the feeling of “stiffness” in the face.

2. If the dosage is too high, the masseter muscle can become over-shrunk, and there will be a hollowness at the sides of your face.

Botox (short for Botulinium Toxin A) usually lasts 5-6 months, so in case any side effects are encountered, it goes away after 5-6 months.

Hope this helps!

For masseters, as Dr Wong has pointed out, Botox leads to a reduction/atrophy of the jaw muscle. However, the results can vary depending on dosage used vs the number/location of botox injections.

Only when it diffuses into the muscles will you have a stiffness of the face due to Risorius and other muscle involvement.

It will last between 6-12 months depending on lifestyle behaviour and the duration increases over the sessions done.

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What are alternative treatments to Botox and HIFU for saggy cheeks? (photo)

Hi Your cheeks aren’t actually fat or really that saggy. I think you may be confused! If you mean that you had Botox for your masseters, that may actually contribute more to the saggy cheeks due to a sudden loss of bulk of your masseters without a corresponding lift of the cheek tissues, thus resulting in more sagginess. For your case, you would do well with a non-invasive threadlifting procedure that will lift the cheeks, nasolabial folds, and the jowls all at the same time. I personally prefer Silhouette Soft and Mint Lift for this purpose.

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How to permanently reduce the size of my masseter muscles if Botox is ineffective?

Thank you for your question. There's a couple of reasons why you could be "botox resistant". 1. Maybe the botox has worked very well and you do not have enlarged masseter muscles anymore, therefore, injecting more toxin will not shrink your jawline any further. 2. There are some people who develop antibodies to botox. You may need to use a different brand of toxin if your masseters are still hypertrophic. The only permanent ways to reduce your jawline are surgical. Either your muscle can be reduced or your mandible can be reduced or both. Hope this answers your question.

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Dr Christopher Chui

Plastic Surgeon

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