Q: What Is BOTOX Used For?
A: Other than for its original intended purpose, treatment of blepharospasm (eye spasm) and strabismus (misalignment of the eye) this product has cosmetic applications as well. It is FDA approved for cosmetic use to improve the look of fine lines and superficial wrinkles between the brows caused from every day brow furrowing. However, facial expressions like smiling, frowning or squinting can also cause wrinkles and BOTOX is equally effective in these areas. If you find that the early signs of aging are becoming apparent or if your facial expressions are causing premature wrinkles to appear, then BOTOX may be for you. BOTOX is also used in the prevention of wrinkles as well, by prohibiting you from making the facial gestures that cause wrinkles.

Q: How Does BOTOX Work ?
A: Normally, your brain sends electrical messages to your muscles so that they can contract and move. The electrical message is transmitted to the muscle by a substance called acetylcholine. BOTOX works to block the release of acetylcholine and, as a result, the muscle does not receive the message to contract. This means that the muscle spasms or movements that cause wrinkling, stop or are greatly reduced after using BOTOX. Patients sometimes refer to the effects of the injection to their area of treatment as being "paralyzed" temporarily.

Patients with hyperhydrosis (intense sweating) also can temporarily remedy their disorder with BOTOX injections. The BOTOX is injected into the areas which sweat profusely like the under arms and backs of knees or palms of the hands, the BOTOX blocks the release of acetylcholine near the sweat glands which cause the excessive sweating.

Q: What Areas Can Botox Be Injected ?
A: Forehead Lines: Frontalis Muscle. Injections of 5 to 25u will usually be adequate. Horizontal lines (or "pleats") are injected every 1 1/2 to 2 cm but high enough from the brow to prohibit brow ptosis.

Glabella/Frown Lines: Corrugator Supercilii and Procerus muscles. Injections of 20 to 25u will usually be adequate. Approximately 5 injections can be given in this area, between 2 an 2.5u per corrugator and 2.5u into the procerus.

Crow's Feet (Lateral Orbital Lines): Orbicularis Oculi and Procerus Muscles. Injections of 5 to 15u will usually be adequate. The pleats are injected with 2.5u. The injector should take care to avoid lid ptosis by injecting too close to the eyelids themselves.

Bunny Lines (Transverse nasal): Injections of 5 to 25u will usually be adequate.

Peri-oral Lines (Smoker's Lines): Orbicularis Oris Muscle. 5u per line will usually be adequate.

Marionette Lines: Depresssor Anguli Oris and/or Trangularis Muscles

Mentalis Dysfunction (Chin "Dents"): Mentalis Muscle (especially after a failed chin augmentation surgery; augmentation mentoplasty). For a standard treatment, 20u of Botox can be injected into various points in the Mentalis to relax the mentalis muscle and prevent visible contour irregularities.

Vertical Platysma Bands: Platysma Muscle. Check with your physician on the prescribed dosage of Botox for your individual needs.

Brow Lift: Botox can be injected above the outer area of the brow to create a lifting effect.

Hyperhydrosis or Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating): Botox can be used to control hyperhydrosis by blocking the release of acetycholine. Acetycholine is the body's chemical which stimulates the sweat glands.

  • Armpits: Axillary
  • Palms: Palmaris
  • Soles of the Feet: Plantaris

Red dots depict possible injection sites that truly depend upon your own anatomy. Not everyone will need as many injections as the next, so please understand that you may not need the amount depicted in the diagram. Your surgeon will more than likely ask you to frown and then he or she will inject where they feel the paralysis will be beneficial. Some surgeons even use stimulators to determine an exact injection point, however experienced surgeons may feel this is not necessary.

Injectable fillers, depicted by the blue dots, may be better suited for these treatment areas. Please ask your doctor for more information. Please ask your doctor for more information on these options.

Q: What To Expect At Your BOTOX Appointment ?
A: BOTOX is injected with a micro-needle into the muscle(s) or areas that your individual needs require. The most requested areas of treatment and complaint are the forehead and outer eye area. One to three injections are usually given per muscle. Patients report very little pain or discomfort associated with BOTOX injections due the size of the micro-needle.It can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure and a stinging or burning sensation.Ladies who are close to their menstrual period or on it, may feel more pain due to heightend senses. Perhaps schedule a week or two after your menstrual cycle is over if you feel the treatment is uncomfortable.

After your treatment, you will usually see the effects of BOTOX within a few hours to three days. .

Sometimes your doctor will have you restrict the amount of muscle movements in the treatment area while it settles in. Ask your physician for specific instructions.Do not lie down for 4 hours or bend over.

Q: How Long Does It Last ?
A: The effects last approximately three to eight months thereafter from a single treatment of BOTOX, resulting in the smoothing of your skin and the improvement of fine lines and superficial wrinkles in the area of your treatment. When the effects start wearing off, you will notice a very gradual fading of its effects. At this point you will return for your next treatment. BOTOX has proven itself again and again in eliminating superficial lines and wrinkles. Patients report that during a course of treatment their lines seem to disappear and the skin regains its former smoothness.

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Q: Will it come back?
A: Not as a rule if good home care is practiced and you have regular checkups and cleanings at the dentist office.

PERIODONTAL DISEASES

Q: What is Halitosis?
A: Halitosis is commonly known as bad breath

Q: What causes it?
A: There are several things that can cause Halitosis but the most common dental causes are tooth decay, gum disease, tooth abscesses and oral cancer. Other common causes can be a sinus infection or exerostomia (dry mouth) usually caused by a medication such as dylantin used in the treatment of diabetes.


Q: Can it be cured?
A: Yes in most cases it can be cured by having any dental decay replaced by fillings and having a thorough cleaning.treating gum disease Or in the event of an abscess tooth having Root Canal Therapy. This along with good home care usually clears up the problem.


Q: Can it be treated with antibiotics?
A: No because Antibiotics won’t be of any use in the case of halitosis unless there is a sinus infection in which case the antibiotic clears up the sinus infection but not the Halitosis


Q: How can I prevent Halitosis?
A: One of the main ways is to practice good home care and have regular checkups with your dentist for cavity or gum disease detection and cleanings


Q: Will it come back?
A: Not as a rule if good home care is practiced and you have regular checkups and cleanings at the dentist office.

TOOTH MOUSSE

Q: Can Tooth Mousse reverse white spot lesions?
A: Tooth Mousse can rebuild subsurface areas of defects in enamel, including white spot lesions from dental caries, white spot lesions associated with orthodontic treatment and fluorosis. In these defects, there are subsurface voids which can be very effectively remineralised by application with Tooth Mousse, and this has been shown using optical and also radiographic tests at the University of Melbourne. For some white spot lesions it may be necessary to first pre-treat the lesion before application of Tooth Mousse. This pre-treatment may involve bleaching, acid etching or microabrasion. Recent research at the Dental School at the University of Melbourne has demonstrated that pre-bleaching is an effective pre-treatment for Tooth Mousse application.

Q:Can Tooth Mousse be used in patients with dental erosion?
A: Tooth Mousse is extremely effective at remineralising erosion areas, and can be used in patients who have gastro esophageal reflux disease, or eating disorders such as bulimia in order to protect these areas from dental erosion. If the saliva in the mouth is of good quality, as shown by saliva profiling, then fluoride is able to promote limited remineralisation because calcium and phosphate is present. However, fluoride will ineffectively remineralise teeth if the salivary flow is inadequate, because of the low levels of calcium and phosphate. Tooth Mousse provides bioavailable calcium and phosphate ions at the tooth surface at much higher levels than can be maintained by normal salivary flow. Therefore Tooth Mousse is recommended even for patients with normal salivary flow.

Q:What about caries in children?
A: In terms of the question of caries prevention in children, APF is not recommended for use by children under 7 years of age, since this may cause nausea and has a poor toxicology profile. It may be ingested in amounts that can cause gastric upset through the creation of hydrofluoric acid. If there are white spot lesions in children, professional neutral fluoride application and/or weekly 0.2% chlorhexidine gel can be used to reduce the levels of mutans streptococci, in combination with Tooth Mousse. Because of toxicology considerations, the extensive use of fluoride by young children, is contraindicated, e.g. products such as Neutrofluor 5000 Plus have labeling that explicitly states that they are not to be used by children. Thus, for the high-caries risk child, Chlorhexidine gel used in the morning and Tooth Mousse at night after flossing and brushing with a 500 ppm fluoride toothpaste is an excellent protocol.

Q: Is a one-off application of Tooth Mousse beneficial?
A: Yes, particularly after and/or with a professional fluoride application because Recaldent® CPP-ACP (Tooth Mousse) promotes the uptake of fluoride ion by tooth enamel. Tooth Mousse may also be used for a patient who has a sensitivity problem. Tooth Mousse could be used as a single application for a patient who had cervical dentinal hypersensitivity where most of the issues of lifestyle were comfortably addressed at that same visit. If one had concerns about compliance, then the patient could be given Tooth Mousse to take home with them.

Q:What time of day is best to use with Tooth Mousse?
A: In terms of the binding properties of Tooth Mousse, CPP-ACP binds to oral soft tissues, to dental pellicle and also to plaque. This binding elevates the salivary levels of calcium and phosphate for extended periods. For this reason, Tooth Mousse works best in patients when it is applied at night before bed, since the salivary clearance rate is low during sleep. In patients who need intensive treatment, then a twice daily application is sufficient in most individuals. It is recommended that Tooth Mousse be applied immediately after flossing and brushing with a 1000 ppm fluoride toothpaste, particularly at night before bed.

Recaldent® CPP-ACP, the active ingredient of Tooth Mousse, is extremely effective for desensitizing, and this is due to the combination of surface effects and its ability to remineralise hard tissues.

Some patients who have generalized cervical dentinal hypersensitivity, may also have dental erosion, and thus one needs to look carefully at their lifestyle (using particularly the resting salivary parameters) to gain insight into whether they have sub-clinical dehydration.

Q:Should Tooth Mousse be used after every fluoride treatment in the surgery?
A: Yes, studies at the University of Melbourne have demonstrated that Recaldent® CPP-ACP significantly increases the uptake of fluoride into the tooth enamel creating fluorapatite that is more resistant to acid challenge. Thus Tooth Mousse is recommended for treatment of patients of both high and low caries risk.In terms of a patient who has a low caries risk, a six monthly application of neutral sodium fluoride gel followed by Tooth Mousse is recommended.

Q: Is Tooth Mousse alone an alternative to fluoride for anti-fluoride patients?
A: Yes. The fact that Tooth Mousse is derived from the milk protein, casein, it is completely natural and safe and therefore is often an effective work-around for patients who are anti-fluoride.