How Many Units Of Botox Would I Need To Address Laugh Lines Around The Mouth?

Thank you for your question. Botox can help with the smile lines, but I is important to define where the lines are. Some patients refer to the crows feet (outer eye skin) as smile lines and Botox is very effective here. Some refer to the nasolabial folds as the smile lines. Fillers are much more effective here and Botox is not.

Botox is good for wrinkles that appear when making facial expressions. Nasolabial folds are visible even when your face is neutral. In addition, if you had Botox administered here, it will negatively affect the movement of muscles you need for daily facial movement. For this reason, fillers are better for this area.

Although some doctors are very skilled and able to carefully place Botox in key areas to weaken some smile muscles to flatten the smile folds, there is a chance that one or more patients who have this done, will at one time, develop a droop of one side of their mouth. This can be a very emotionally upsetting and long three to four months of waiting for it to look better as it wears off.

Botox is not used to treat laugh lines, or marionette lines, around the mouth. You will need a filler to smooth out your laugh lines. There are a few different fillers your dermatologist can use to correct the marionette lines, depending on how deep your lines are and the results you want to achieve. Restylane and Juvederm are great filler options for many patients who want to smooth out their marionette lines. 

Since Botox is used to relax muscles, it is not generally the product of choice to address the laugh lines around the mouth.  Fillers -- such as Juvederm, Restylane, Perlane, Radiesse, among others -- are the most commonly used solutions to address this concern.

As panel members stated, the best approach for correcting or improving the nasolabial folds (laugh lines) is the use of dermal fillers such as Radiesse, Restylane, Juvederm, etc. 

Botox and Dysport relax key facial muscles to improve appearance whereas dermal fillers are used to volumize, shape, and support the face.

Having a practitioner that understands your goals and reviews options is a good starting place.

 

Think of botulinum toxin products like BOTOX and Dysport as being great for the upper face (crows feet lines and above) and think of the fillers as being great for the lower face (starting below the lower eyelids).  The smile lines around the mouth are best treated with fillers like Restylane and Perlane.

Botox is used to treat fine lip lines that occur above and below the lips.  Fillers can also be used for lip lines along with Botox since they complement each other.

Laugh lines or smile lines are creases beyond the corners of the mouth.  Fillers are used to plump these creases but Botox is not indicated for these lines.

Consult a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon for the best possible results.

Because Botox works by relaxing the muscles, you may find some unpleasant side effects with the motion or symmetry of your mouth.

Soft filers such as Juvederm or Restylane will work better, and last about 3 times as long.

For laugh lines, also called the marionette lines and Nasolabial folds, typically filler is placed to smooth out these wrinkles.  Botox is not typically placed in this area.  Depending on how deep your lines are, there are different filler products which can achieve a natural result.