Can I Lift the Corner of the Mouth Without Adding Volume to the Lip?

While Botox can sometimes be used to weaken the function of the muscles that depress the corners of the mouth (the commissures), it's often not that helpful there. Dermal fillers like Radiesse or Artefill can diminish the downturned commissures by filling in the area just below it (the melomental fold).

In more severe cases or in patients who have poor soft-tissue firmness, even fillers won't work well here. For those select few patients, a lateral commissure lift (a.k.a., a lateral lip lift) can be performed in the office with only numbing medication (local anesthesia with lidocaine). Properly done, the scar this procedure leaves behind should be nearly invisible when healed.

None of these technique, by the way, requires adding any volume to the lips themselves.

All the best,

--DCP

Fillers such as radiesse, juvederm or restylane lift the corners of the mouth so much better than botox and do not add volume to the lips.  Sincerely,

David Hansen,MD

You can absolutely lift the corners of the mouth with a filler (Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse) without adding any extra fullness to the lips. In the hands of a skilled injector, the filler can be placed below the corners of the mouth with a small amount directly into the corners of the lips.  The addition of Botox into the DAO muscles (muscles that depress the corners of the mouth) can sometimes help to give an additional lift, but you would need more than one unit to gain the desired effect.

Of course without an exam it is hard to say but sometimes fillers help lift the lip.  Also depending upon your exam, a facelift can help elevate the corner of the mouth as well.

You definitely need more than 1 unit of Botox in the DAO muscles to lift the corners of the lip. I typically inject about 4-5 units per side to get the corners of the mouth to turn upward. 

Fillers can also be used to give more volume to the corners of the mouth and to fill in the "marionette" lines.  This can certainly be done without making your lips look fuller.  I would use Restylane or Juvederm in this area.