Botox is a prescription drug made from the Clostridium botulinum bacterium that is used to temporarily paralyze muscle activity. According to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, botulinum toxin injections are the most popular minimally invasive cosmetic procedure available. In fact, last year, Americans underwent more than seven million Botox treatments.
What Does Botox Do?
Botox injections are primarily used to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles by blocking signals from your nerves to your muscles, preventing them from contracting. This causes the wrinkles to relax and soften. Botox is most useful in treating:
- Frown lines between your eyebrows
- Crow’s feet, which are the lines that extend from the corners of your eyes
- Forehead furrows
How Is Botox Performed?
Administering Botox injections takes just a few minutes and doesn’t require anesthesia. A numbing medication or cream can be applied to the skin beforehand, if you’re worried about discomfort. Your doctor will use a thin needle to inject a small dose of Botox into your skin or specific muscles.
Results usually take a few days to appear and will last anywhere from three to 12 months. Maintenance injections are needed if you wish to continue treatment beyond the initial dose.
Some temporary bruising at the injection site is common but beyond that, side effects are rare. They may include headaches, drooping eyelids and a crooked smile. In rare cases the botulinum toxin may spread to other parts of the body and cause problems.
Contact a medical professional right away if you experience muscle weakness, vision problems, trouble speaking or swallowing, breathing difficulties or loss of bladder control.
Botox can be dangerous if administered improperly, so be sure to choose a skilled and certified doctor who is experienced with Botox injections.
Dysport
While Botox and Dysport are very similar in most ways, there are a few key differences. The most important thing to know about these treatments, though, is that the injection technique affects the results far more than the brand of botulinum toxin type A used.
The face has 43 distinct muscles, and the effectiveness of the injections depends entirely on whether the injection administrator targets the correct area. Because of this, the injections should only be given by a knowledgeable aesthetic physician.
When you visit our professional medical cosmetics staff at ENT of Georgia North, rest assured that we have the background, training and experience to give you the best injections for the best results.
Both Botox and Dysport injections are typically administered every four to six months depending on the patient’s needs. The number of shots given during the procedure depends entirely on the area and severity of the wrinkles you’re treating. The injection process typically takes about 15 minutes and doesn’t require any recovery time or anesthesia.
The Differences Between Botox and Dysport
While Botox and Dysport both use the same medication, the size of the molecules in the injections are significantly different. Dysport injections use smaller molecules of botulinum toxin type A than Botox.
There are far more similarities between the products than there are unique traits; however, a few aspects worth mentioning include:
- Dysport spreads through your cells easier and therefore affects a larger area than Botox. This can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the treatment area.
- Dysport injections are usually marginally less expensive than Botox. The price is more dependent, though, on how many injections your physician recommends.
- Botox may last slightly longer than Dysport in most patients. Both injections must typically be administered two to four times per year, but some patients’ results last up to 12 months.
- Dysport begins working slightly faster than Botox. Dysport’s onset takes two to five days, while Botox takes four to seven days to set in.
Contact ENT of Georgia North for more information or to schedule an appointment.
