There are a variety of injectable treatments available to help reduce the appearance of smile lines. Botox can be useful for prevention, but dermal fillers are a better option for people looking to reverse these lines. Sometimes, Botox can be combined with dermal fillers to help prevent and add volume to smile lines.

Before your consultation, it’s helpful to learn how these injectables can address smile lines and help you achieve the results you’re looking for.

What is a smile line?

Smile lines can describe the natural folds from the nose and mouth, as well as ones that develop over time due to repetitive muscle movements. Most often, this term describes the nasolabial lines, which form from your nose to the outer corners of your mouth. Age is the main factor when it comes to their development. Marionette lines are also a common aesthetic problem for patients. These are the vertical wrinkles at the corners of your mouth.

Getting rid of these features can create an age-defying appearance for patients. There are a variety of treatments available to address these aesthetic conditions and restore a youthful look.

How does Botox help with a smile line?

Botox may help with these aesthetic conditions, but alternative treatments will typically work better for patients seeking to solve these problems.

If your lines are primarily caused by muscle movements, Botox may be a useful treatment method. For example, if you’re dealing with the small, parallel lines that form along smile folds, Botox can effectively relax the muscles in that area and smooth the resulting lines. A filler might not be ideal for treating that particular area.

Botox is a nonsurgical, minimally invasive treatment that uses injections to relax muscle movements. Results can be seen almost immediately and are noticeable 3 to 5 days after treatment; after 2 weeks, full results are visible. This is a temporary treatment that will last about 3 to 6 months. While it helps to stop the crease from occurring when someone smiles, it’s not the ideal or most effective treatment for smile lines themselves.

In most cases, dermal filler injections will likely be the best choice for reducing the appearance of smile lines. Let’s look at these alternative treatment types so you can get an idea of which filler might be the right choice for you.

Juvéderm Volbella XC

Juvederm Volbella is a substance made of hyaluronic acid and is great for treating the lips and mouth lines around the lips. Due to its composition, it supports natural movement and can help patients add volume to this area without affecting muscle movement. This creates natural-looking results, giving the patient a more youthful appearance.

If you have wrinkles and lines that directly surround your lips, this could be a great option for you. Remember that this treatment can be combined with other treatments as well.

Juvéderm Ultra XC 

This is also an FDA-approved dermal filler that is great for lips and the area directly surrounding the lips. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in the body, so it works naturally with your facial movements. As opposed to Botox, this type of substance doesn’t relax muscles but rather functions as a way to add volume to wrinkles surrounding the lips.

Juvéderm Vollure XC

This is the member of the Juvederm family that’s likely the best option to address nasolabial folds. It works extremely well in the area of the nose and mouth, having the right density to sit well in these areas while effectively adding volume. Different areas of the face have varying amounts of fat and volume, so they require different densities of fillers in varying amounts of units for treatment. This particular form of Juvederm seems to be the perfect solution for smile lines.

Restylane: Silk, Refyne/Defyne

Restylane is another injectable hyaluronic acid treatment that works effectively in the nose and mouth areas. These fillers can be used to treat nasolabial folds and deep wrinkles. The different types used for each patient will depend on the patient’s specific aesthetic goals.

Who is a Good Candidate for Smile Lines Treatment?

Anyone who doesn’t want to undergo a surgical procedure and is looking to resolve this aesthetic issue is a good candidate for these treatments, with some exceptions. Additionally, anyone who is considering surgery and wants to see what their results could look like can benefit from these types of treatments.

People who are pregnant, are breastfeeding, have an infection in the treatment area, have a significant concern affecting their health, or have bleeding issues should tell their board-certified dermatologist about these concerns before receiving treatment.

Consider Smile Line Injections at our New York City Office 

At Spring Street Dermatology, our team of board-certified dermatologists provides a wide range of individualized medical and cosmetic procedures to address all of your dermatological needs and aesthetic goals effectively. Contact us to schedule your consultation in New York City at our offices in SOHO or Uptown today.