My lips look crooked when I smile, is this a muscle issue? (Photos)

Question

I don't feel like my smile always looked like this growing up. But my smile is very crooked. When I smile, the right side lips crease over, so they "disappear" more than the left side. The left side looks fuller when I smile. It makes my face look asymmetrical. When I'm not smiling, it doesn't look asymmetrical in my eyes. But when I open my mouth, you can see the asymmetry too. Is this a muscle issue? What can I do about this issue?

Kourosh Maddahi, DDS · Answer

Hi:From the photos it appears that the lip movement is not symmetrical due to muscle.  Most likely you will need Botox or fillers to help make the muscle movements more symmetrical.Best,Dr. Maddahi

Neal Nealis, DDS (retired) · Answer

Dear stixnstonz34, The posture of your lips depends upon many things including among others the shape of your lips, the shape of your teeth underneath and which muscles you use to smile. Also note that every year our facial bones grow 1 millimeter which means that in time our facial features will change slightly. Dr. N

My lips look crooked when I smile, is this a muscle issue? (Photos)

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