Does having a dental block before getting filler distort your face or affect getting the filler in any way?

Hi, I have performed many facial shaping procedures using dermal fillers, facial implants (cheek, chin), liposuction and/or facelifts for over 30 years. Following the beauty principles outlined in my book on face and body beauty, women look the most feminine, youthful and attractive with heart shaped faces. Heart shaped faces have cheeks that are full and round in the front. Cheek augmentation with a dermal filler or using cheek implants for a permanent enhancement will create full, round cheeks that will feminize the entire face.

 Think of facial beauty as something that "must" address all layers of the face including the skeletal structure of the cheeks and chin, the overlying SMAS muscle, amount and position of subcutaneous fat and finally the degree of skin laxity. It's an "urban myth" that pulling tissues over flat cheeks and a weak chin can create a beautiful or handsome face. Similarly, dermal fillers or facial implants alone can't lift and remove excess skin from the face and neck. Natural looking beauty is created by the aesthetic vision of what tissue layers need to be adjusted by what technique and amount.

 Dermal fillers would be a great place to start if your cheeks are flat as this alone can feminize the entire face. In order for that to occur, the dermal filler needs to be placed in the front of the cheeks which will create a full round cheek and thereby a feminine, heart shaped face. If however, the dermal filler is placed to the outside of the cheek this broadens and widens the face which is a relatively masculinizing effect and one that will "not" create a more feminine shaped face.

 A dental block is performed to reduce discomfort with dermal fillers (mainly to the lips) by blocking sensation from sensory nerves (infraorbital and mental nerves).  This won't distort the face or affect the efficacy of the dermal filler in any way.

Hope this helps.

Having a dental bock performed before lip filling is used to decrease the lip's sensitivity to the multiple injections required to adequately contour the lip. Depending on the volume and type of anesthetic used during the dental block, you may notice a slight  asymmetry to your face after the 'numbing' kicks in. This is temporary, and a qualified injector will still be able to fill and sculpt the face appropriately. A 'crooked smile' after a dental block will usually subside in a couple of hours, and does not directly affect the volume of quality of filler. If the asymmetry persists beyond a day, you should return to your injector for follow up.

Hey JanniePooh and thanks for your question- 

Great question! There are several things at play here and there are different approaches to it as well. 

1. The amount of anesthesia to perform a dental block is small. The block is also performed from usually 4 small injections in the mouth (2 for upper lips and 2 for lower lips). The injection can make the lower cheek just lateral to the nose swell- that's where we're injecting--- but the lips themselves should remain normal. 

2. many injectors mark the lips with pencils- the markings are done prior to injection so there is zero distortion. 

Trust you lips to an experienced injector who you trust!

Hope this helps and God Bless!

Dr. Robb

Because the lips contain a high number of nerves, injections to the lips can be uncomfortable for some patients.  Many patients are able to tolerate Restylane or Juvederm injections to the lips without a dental block.  However, Dermatologists can perform a dental block to make the procedure completely painless.  Physicians with lots of experience with these procedures should be able to provide treatment without any significant issues.

Think of what your face loooks like after a visit to the dentist with a dental block. Sometimes  there is no change of movement of lower face or drooping but sometimes there is. I prefer injecting with topical numbing and use of ice as I want to see the patients mobile face when I am injecting them. Others have no preference and do use a dental block .

I haven't done a dental block before filler in more than a decade. That is, as we say, very "old school". There are newer, more advanced techniques available, using microcannulas to deliver filler to the lip and perioral region, that make dental blocks ENTIRELY unnecessary. 

Best,

Lisa Vuich, MD