Am I a good candidate for a lip lift with a 17mm long philtrum? (Photos)

Question

My upper teeth are not visible when my mouth is at rest however when I smile my lip covers the gum completely. My philtrum is kind of long (17mm). Can a lip lift be performed in my case? I also tried lip fillers but I still didn’t get any teeth show.

Gary Linkov, MD · Answer

There are surgical and non-surgical approaches to lip augmentation. Non-surgical approaches include botox (slight lift, reducing gum show) and filler (volume restoration). Surgically, you can have two separate incisions under the nose (italian), one incision under the nose (bull horn), one incision at the red/white upper lip junction (gull wing) or two separate incision at the corners, or a combination, depending on your desired look and anatomy. My preferred surgical technique is called the Elelyft, which is a version of the bullhorn approach. The ideal candidate for the Elelyft, or upper lip lift, is someone with a philtral length of 13mm or longer, no upper dental show, and/or a thin upper lip. The nasal base to mouth width ratio needs to be taken into consideration to avoid leaving the lip corners down. 
In your situation, a lip lift would very likely help reveal the upper teeth!
Consult with an experienced lip surgeon for a complete range of options that are appropriate for your situation.
Gary Linkov, MD
Lip Specialist
Manhattan

Ricardo L. Rodriguez, MD · Answer

When you add a filler, the red part of the lip (vermillion), gets larger in all dimensions and that is added to the philtrum length.I let all my patients decide on what upper lip length they find attractive, and amazingly enough regardless of age, height, round face, skinny face, 90% pick 11 millimeters. But enough pick 1.3 or .8 that I don't feel comfortable making the choice for them. The patient sits in front of the mirror, pulls up the lip to a distance she likes, then I measure.There are a lot of technical issues with this procedure, but check out my website, I have a lot of info, and watch the video!

Ali Gurlek, MD · Answer

Greetings thanks for your question and photos,
you are a perfect candidate for a liplift surgery to reduce the space between your nose and lips

Paul Jason Skoll, MBChB, FRCS, FCS(SA)Plast · Answer

Hi. If the length of your upper lip is worrying you, it could be shortened using an upper lip lift. We generally shorten the philtral length to around 11-12mm from the high point of Cupid's bow - this does however leave you with a scar in the shadow of your nose which you would need to accept as well as some "stretching out" which will happen over some months and years. Make sure your surgeon is very familiar with this surgery. Results then are usually very good.

Am I a good candidate for a lip lift with a 17mm long philtrum? (Photos)

Answers (4)

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