BOTOX® Cosmetic is the bomb. It is truly a great tool for our toolbox. One issue that some people have is when they smile they have a “gummy” smile. What that means is that their upper lip retracts too much, so you can see the gums above their upper teeth.
This is a study out of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal April 2022, “Botulinum Toxin A in the Management of a Gummy Smile: A Clinical Controlled Preliminary Study.”
The fancy term for gummy smile is “excessive gingiva display”
Study:
- GROUP 1- 4 points of injection, with 2 units per point to the levator labii superioris (yes, that is the upper lip muscle that elevates the lip) AND the levator labii alaeque nasi (the one near the nose)
- GROUP 2- only 2 points of injection to the levator alaeque nasi
- Evaluations in muscle activity and patient satisfaction were done at weeks 2, 8, 12, 16, 21, and 25
Findings:
- Both groups were happy with the results.
- AT 2 weeks there was no difference between the 2 groups.
- They maintained gummy smile reduction until 16 weeks for GROUP 2 and 25 weeks for GROUP 1
- Patient satisfaction correlated with the botox effect
My thoughts?
Smiles are so important. If you don’t like your smile or feel self-conscious about it, BOTOX® Cosmetic is a simple fix to relax that muscle a tiny bit. You still look like you are smiling. You don’t look funny. Your smile just looks a little softer.
The fact double the dose lasted almost twice as long makes sense- BOTOX® Cosmetic in general is a dose dependent thing.
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