In my previous blog post we discussed about dental treatments that are possible with botox and dermal fillers. If you are convinced with the fact that Dental professionals should practice botox and dermal fillers then continue reading this post where I am going to give you further information about botulinum toxin.

What is botulinum toxin?

Botulinum toxin is produced by gram-positive anaerobic bacteria Clostridium Botulinum. Botox is a trade name used by Allergen for Botulinum toxin and basically it is a purified form of botulinum toxin which has both aesthetic and therapeutic uses. The trade name Botox has become so popular that people recognize trade name better than its actual name; just like we use the trade name Xerox for photocopy. Many of us get afraid to hear the word toxin but botulinum has the real role to play in dental treatments. It is the toxin that helps to age gracefully.

Are there any variants of Botulinum Toxin?

Yes, there are seven type of botulinum toxins which are available to us. It is from type A, B, C, D, E, F & G. The one which is used most commonly is type A; however if any individual gets resistant to type A then we can use type B botulinum toxin. The type B botulinum Toxin is known as Myoblock.

Botulinum Toxin is available to us from different pharmaceutical companies.  There are several other trade names of botulinum Toxin like Desport, Neuronox and there are many more apart from Botox.

How Botulinum Toxin works?

Botox has its action on the muscle; it acts on SNAP 25 and doesn't let the muscle contract. It takes around 1.5-2 hours to bind to the nerve and it can take anywhere between 2 to 10 days to show full clinical effect. The effect of botox last from 3 months to 6 months varying individual to individual.

Some common Myths & Facts about Botulinum Toxin

Myth: It is new and not tested.

Fact: Botulinum toxin has a history of more than 20 years. And there are thousands of research papers available on the same.

Myth: It will give us botulism or else I will loose sensations and will have a plastic face.

Fact: None of it is correct. The lethal dose of botox is 2500 units to 3000 units which is 25 to 30 vials which is a lot of money to kill someone. A 100 unit vial of botulinum Toxin costs somewhere between Rs.18,000- Rs.20,000 INR

What do I have to know for getting good results from botulinum toxin?

For getting good results from botox injection one needs to understand the anatomy of the face or the areas where they want to inject botox.