Botox - All Clinical Facts You Need To Know

Botox® Cosmetic is the first and only FDA-approved prescription product, which temporarily improves the appearance of both moderate to severe laugh lines between the brows and moderate to severe crow's feet in adults. Unlike other invasive facial rejuvenation procedures or a facelift treatment, Botox administration takes minutes and requires zero downtime. Inject Botox into the facial muscles responsible for fine lines, unsightly wrinkles to relax the muscles. The ingredients in Botox block signal to the muscle, that is generated from the nerves and therefore reduces its ability to contract and from unsightly wrinkles.

Key Highlights

• FDA approved
• Treatment only takes minutes
• No downtime for recovery
• Smooths wrinkles in the forehead, Crow’s Feet and between the eyes

Botulinum Toxins (BT) can be differentiated into seven types from A to G. However, commercially available variants include purified exotoxin and only BT types A (BTA), and BT types B (BTB) are marketed by various brand names.

Botulinum Toxin (BTA) is marketed as follows

• Botox - Allergan, Irvine, CA, USA
• Dysport - Speywood Pharmaceuticals, Maidenhead, UK
• Xeomin - Merz Pharmaceuticals, Germany
• Prosigne - Lanzhou Biological Products Institute, China

Botulinum Toxin (BTB) is marketed as follows

• Myobloc - Elan Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA, USA
• Neurobloc - Elan Pharmaceuticals, County Clare, Shannon, Ireland

How long does Botox last?

Treatment usually lasts between 3-6 months. Many factors influence how long effects of Botox® lasts. As the product wears off with time, muscle action will return gradually; previously treated lines & wrinkles begin to reappear and need to be treated again. If treatments are repeated on a regular basis, the lines and wrinkles often appear less severe than before, as the muscles are now being trained to relax.

Some of these factors that may shorten or lengthen the effects include

• Age
• Condition of skin and level of sun damage
• Facial expressions and structure
• Diet
• Smoker or not
• Past/previous experience with Botox® or another wrinkle relaxers.

Is Botox® Safe?

Botox® Cosmetic is approved by FDA, and the injections are relatively safe when performed by an experienced practitioner. It has proven to be a successful and valuable therapeutic protein when dosage, variety of treated clinical conditions and frequency of treatment are considered. The best way to ensure quality treatment is receiving injections from a highly experienced provider, such as a medical trained dentist in facial aesthetics or nursing professionals.