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Botox for TMJ

  • •Less clenching, less ache
  • •Soften a square jawline
  • •Therapeutic relief
  • •In-office, no downtime

Botox placed into the masseter lowers how hard that muscle can clench, so the jaw joint and the teeth carry less load through the day. Relief builds over the weeks that follow, and in some jaws the lower face softens too.

5.0★ · 82 Google Reviews

Botox for TMJ
01

What Is Botox for TMJ?

Botox for TMJ is an injection of Botox placed into the masseter. The masseter is the thick muscle at the angle of the jaw, and it is the muscle that closes the teeth together when you bite down or clench. The injection interrupts the nerve signal reaching it, so the muscle contracts with less force and the joint, the tissue around it and the teeth carry less load through the day and overnight. Clenching eases across the first weeks, and the effect is at its fullest between weeks four and eight. Treating the masseter with Botox is an off-label use, outside the indications the FDA has approved.

02

Botox for TMJ at Beauty and Fly

Masseter injections at the Bronxville and Bridgehampton offices are given by Catherine Curtin, MSN, FNP-C. The borders of the muscle are marked on both sides at the examination, the first dose is kept conservative so everyday chewing stays comfortable, and a small addition is made two weeks later if the clench is still strong.

03

Is Botox for TMJ Right for You?

  • Botox for TMJ suits adults whose symptoms track with clenching and grinding: morning jaw tightness, aching along the sides of the face, or a masseter that has built visible bulk from years of work.

  • It addresses jaw clenching and bruxism, muscle-driven TMJ pain and tightness, grinding headaches that arrive by morning, and the width an overworked masseter adds to the lower face.

  • Medical history is reviewed at the consultation, and the treatment is not given in pregnancy. Pain coming from the joint or the bite calls for a different treatment, which Catherine explains at that visit.

04

What Are the Benefits of Botox for TMJ?

Clenching loses force, so morning tightness and the ache that shows up while chewing both ease, and the teeth and the joint stop absorbing that load all day. Grinding headaches often improve with them. For some jaws the masseter reduces in bulk over the months that follow and the lower face narrows with it. The appointment is a few quick pinches, and there is no downtime afterward. Neuromodulators are $15.50 per unit, and the dose for your masseter is set at the examination. Consultations are complimentary and there is no deposit.

TMJ Treatment Goals

Where Masseter Botox Makes a Difference

Jaw Clenching and Bruxism

Jaw Clenching and Bruxism

Clenching you cannot consciously stop does its work overnight and again through the workday. Softening the masseter loosens that grip, which usually shows up first as less morning tightness along the sides of the face.

Treatments+

Botox is placed into the body of the masseter so it cannot clamp at full strength, which can reduce the repeated strain on the teeth and the joint underneath.

Causes+

Stress and sleep patterns drive a lot of clenching, and an already strong masseter makes every clench harder. Enamel wears down, and the jaw never fully lets go.

Explore TMJ Treatments

Your Week by Week Timeline

How relief and shape arrive at different points

Tap to flip

Right After Treatment

Treatment day · jaw feels the same

There may be a few small marks where the injections went in, and they fade within hours. Nothing about the jaw feels different yet. Most people go back to work or out to dinner straight from the office, and nobody would know.

Tap to flip

First Few Weeks

Weeks 2-4 · the grip lets go

By the second week the clench has less force behind it and the jaw sits easier. Very firm food can feel like more effort for a short stretch while the muscle adjusts. That is expected, and it passes without any treatment.

Tap to flip

The Peak Window, Weeks 4 to 8

Weeks 4-8 · most relaxed

Somewhere between weeks four and eight the masseter is at its most relaxed, and relief from clenching is at its clearest. Any narrowing of the lower face arrives later than that, and only on jaws where years of clenching built real bulk. Muscle strength then returns gradually, and relief fades with it.

The Experience Behind Your Dose

Assessment Before the Dose

The Experience Behind Your Dose

Catherine Curtin, MSN, FNP-C, has nearly 20 years of experience in aesthetic injectables. The masseter is treated only after an exam that identifies what is driving your symptoms, because jaw pain from an overworked muscle and jaw pain from the joint need different treatment. The dose follows that exam.

The exam starts with where you point when asked where it hurts, and whether the jaw clicks as it opens. Masseter Botox suits jaw pain driven by an overworked chewing muscle. Pain coming from the joint itself or from the bite needs a different treatment, and Catherine explains that at the consultation.

The masseter's borders sit differently on every jaw, and the muscles that lift your smile run just forward of them. Both sides are marked on your own face before the dose is set, and the injections go deep into the body of the muscle, away from its front edge.

The exam comes before the dose, every time. When the masseter is driving your symptoms, the dose is set to take force out of the clench while your bite stays comfortable for eating. Symptoms from elsewhere call for a different treatment.

Botox Reviews

What Catherine's Botox Patients Have to Say

These are Google reviews, left by people treated by Catherine and reproduced here in full.

5.0 average (82 Google reviews) · Read all Google reviews →

Catherine is truly the best! I’ve been going to her for Botox, lip filler, and facials, and I’m always so happy with my results. She’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable, and so sweet. Her products…

RC

R. C.

Google review · Bronxville

Treatment Process

Botox TMJ Treatment Process

Here is each stage of masseter Botox at Beauty and Fly, from the first consultation through maintenance: what happens, how the jaw tends to feel afterward, and when you are booked back.

Step 01 · Consultation

Consultation and Jaw Assessment

Catherine examines the masseter while you bite down, so the force of the clench is measured by hand, and asks you to point to where the pain sits. Muscle pain and joint pain sit in different places and lead to different treatments, so the exam separates the two before any dose is set.

  • Masseter strength and jaw opening assessed first
  • Your clenching and pain history talked through
  • Goal set around relief, contour, or both
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Botox for TMJ treatment process

Treatment Areas

The Areas Treated with Botox

Anatomy changes from one area to the next, so the technique and the amount placed change with it. Many patients have two or three treated in one visit. Explore them below, or book a complimentary consultation at either office. No deposit.

Baby Botox
Consultation Required

Baby Botox

Baby Botox

Consultation Required

Baby Botox, also called micro Botox, uses very small, carefully placed amounts of Botox to relax the muscle pressing…

View Treatment
Botox Aftercare
Consultation Required

Botox Aftercare

Botox Aftercare

Consultation Required

What not to do after Botox is a short list.

View Treatment
Botox for Hyperhidrosis
Consultation Required

Botox for Hyperhidrosis

Botox for Hyperhidrosis

Consultation Required

Excessive underarm sweating is driven by nerve signals that keep the sweat glands producing regardless of heat or…

View Treatment
Botox for Migraines Cost
Consultation Required

Botox for Migraines Cost

Botox for Migraines Cost

Consultation Required

Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) is FDA-approved to prevent chronic migraine, which means headache on 15 or more days each…

View Treatment
Botox Lip Flip
Consultation Required

Botox Lip Flip

Botox Lip Flip

Consultation Required

Your upper lip disappears the moment you smile.

View Treatment
Botox Timing and Intervals
Consultation Required

Botox Timing and Intervals

Botox Timing and Intervals

Consultation Required

Most people repeat Botox every three to four months.

View Treatment
Crow's Feet Treatment
Consultation Required

Crow's Feet Treatment

Crow's Feet Treatment

Consultation Required

The fine lines that fan from the outer corner of the eye used to disappear when you stopped smiling, and now some of…

View Treatment
Dysport Timing and Results
Consultation Required

Dysport Timing and Results

Dysport Timing and Results

Consultation Required

Dysport is an injectable neuromodulator.

View Treatment
Forehead Botox
Consultation Required

Forehead Botox

Forehead Botox

Consultation Required

Forehead Botox is onabotulinumtoxinA, a prescription neuromodulator placed into the frontalis, the muscle that lifts…

View Treatment
Frown Line Botox Between the Brows
Consultation Required

Frown Line Botox Between the Brows

Frown Line Botox Between the Brows

Consultation Required

Frown lines are the two upright creases between the brows, also called the 11s or glabellar lines.

View Treatment
Smile Line Botox Around the Mouth
Consultation Required

Smile Line Botox Around the Mouth

Smile Line Botox Around the Mouth

Consultation Required

They show up first when you laugh, and lately they hold for a moment after the laugh has gone.

View Treatment
Baby Botox
Consultation Required

Baby Botox

Baby Botox

Consultation Required

Baby Botox, also called micro Botox, uses very small, carefully placed amounts of Botox to relax the muscle pressing…

View Treatment
Botox Aftercare
Consultation Required

Botox Aftercare

Botox Aftercare

Consultation Required

What not to do after Botox is a short list.

View Treatment
Botox for Hyperhidrosis
Consultation Required

Botox for Hyperhidrosis

Botox for Hyperhidrosis

Consultation Required

Excessive underarm sweating is driven by nerve signals that keep the sweat glands producing regardless of heat or…

View Treatment
Botox for Migraines Cost
Consultation Required

Botox for Migraines Cost

Botox for Migraines Cost

Consultation Required

Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) is FDA-approved to prevent chronic migraine, which means headache on 15 or more days each…

View Treatment
Botox Lip Flip
Consultation Required

Botox Lip Flip

Botox Lip Flip

Consultation Required

Your upper lip disappears the moment you smile.

View Treatment
Botox Timing and Intervals
Consultation Required

Botox Timing and Intervals

Botox Timing and Intervals

Consultation Required

Most people repeat Botox every three to four months.

View Treatment
Crow's Feet Treatment
Consultation Required

Crow's Feet Treatment

Crow's Feet Treatment

Consultation Required

The fine lines that fan from the outer corner of the eye used to disappear when you stopped smiling, and now some of…

View Treatment
Dysport Timing and Results
Consultation Required

Dysport Timing and Results

Dysport Timing and Results

Consultation Required

Dysport is an injectable neuromodulator.

View Treatment
Forehead Botox
Consultation Required

Forehead Botox

Forehead Botox

Consultation Required

Forehead Botox is onabotulinumtoxinA, a prescription neuromodulator placed into the frontalis, the muscle that lifts…

View Treatment
Frown Line Botox Between the Brows
Consultation Required

Frown Line Botox Between the Brows

Frown Line Botox Between the Brows

Consultation Required

Frown lines are the two upright creases between the brows, also called the 11s or glabellar lines.

View Treatment
Smile Line Botox Around the Mouth
Consultation Required

Smile Line Botox Around the Mouth

Smile Line Botox Around the Mouth

Consultation Required

They show up first when you laugh, and lately they hold for a moment after the laugh has gone.

View Treatment

Beauty Bank Membership

Beauty Bank Membership for Botox

Beauty Bank is a monthly membership, and members pay less per unit for neuromodulators, including Botox for the masseter. The standard price is $15.50 per unit, and the member figure is on the Beauty Bank page. Every consultation is complimentary, and no deposit is taken to book.

  • Standard neuromodulator pricing is $15.50 a unit

  • Beauty Bank membership

  • Suits patients who treat on a schedule

Beauty Bank
Beauty Bank Membership

Masseter Botox, Bronxville and Bridgehampton

Treating the Jaw for Relief First

Masseter Botox gets talked about as a jaw slimming treatment. It is dosed for the pain first. The dose follows how hard the muscle is clenching and where it hurts. Narrowing of the lower face, when it happens, becomes visible months later as the muscle loses bulk.

Tap to flip

Thoughtful Jaw Assessment

Anatomy-led planning

Masseter size and jaw movement are assessed before a dose is discussed. Pain on one side only, or a jaw that locks as it opens, points to the joint, and that calls for a different treatment.

Tap to flip

Measured, Conservative Dosing

Comfort kept in the bite

The first visit uses a conservative dose, low enough that everyday chewing stays comfortable, then builds at the follow-up if clenching is still strong. Injections stay inside the borders of the masseter, so your smile is unaffected.

Tap to flip

Two-Week Personal Check-In

Adjusted when it helps

Two weeks in, Catherine asks what has changed about the pain and how the bite feels when you eat. If a small addition would help, she explains what it would do and what it might cost in chewing comfort for a few weeks.

A full-face assessment comes before any single treatment.

Complimentary consultation. No deposit. A card holds the time.

See Treatment MenuBook a Consultation

FAQ

TMJ Botox Questions,
Answered

These are the questions asked most often about masseter Botox for clenching, grinding, and jaw pain, answered the way they are answered in person.

There is no standard number of units for a jaw. It depends on how large the masseter is and how hard it clenches, and both vary enormously between people. At your consultation you are told the dose to start with and the reasoning behind it, in plain language.

Relief holds for a period that varies from person to person. Some people get several months from one treatment. Others find the first round fades sooner, then later rounds hold longer as the muscle does less work. Your next visit is timed from how long your own relief lasted.

Not on the day of treatment. The change builds over the first weeks as the masseter gives up clenching strength. Morning tightness tends to ease first, then the ache that comes on while chewing. The pace varies from person to person, and your two-week visit reviews where it has reached.

For some jaws, yes. A masseter that stops working so hard gives back its bulk slowly, and the lower face can read narrower over the months that follow. It does not happen in everyone. At your consultation Catherine tells you how likely it looks for your jaw, and how the dose would be set if comfort and shape both matter to you.

By lowering how hard the masseter can contract. With less force running through it all day, the joint, the tissue around it and the teeth carry far less load, and many TMJ symptoms ease from there. This use of Botox is off-label, meaning it is outside the FDA-approved indications, and Catherine explains exactly what that means at your consultation. She also shows you on your own jaw where the product goes and why.

It suits people whose symptoms track clearly with clenching and an overworked jaw muscle. It is not right for everyone, and it is not done in pregnancy. Catherine takes a full history and looks at the pattern of your pain and grinding before saying whether the muscle is what is driving it.

Botox is $15.50 per unit; Beauty Bank members pay less, and the figures are on the Beauty Bank page. The total follows the dose your masseter needs, which is why it is confirmed at your consultation and again at your two-week visit. The consultation is complimentary and there is no deposit.

Yes. Botox does not act immediately, so eating is unaffected on the day of treatment. The one request is to avoid massaging the treated area for the first day. Once the muscle softens, very hard food may feel like more work briefly, while ordinary meals carry on as normal.

Usually not. Treating the masseter sits outside the uses Botox is FDA-approved for, so most plans treat it as non-covered, and some push jaw complaints over to dental benefits, where the rules are different again. Your own plan is the only reliable answer, so call and ask what they allow for TMJ care.