Injectable fillers are a simple and dramatically effective office treatment method for soft tissue filling of the face. Most commonly, making lips bigger and softening deep nasolabial folds (cheek-lip grooves or facial parentheses)are the mainstays of injectable filler treatment areas. However any area of facial depression, whether it be a spot or a line, can be injected and lifted.
The labiomental fold is one such area which can also be injected. Like the nasolabial fold, it is a natural line which can be shallow or deep. Unlike the nasolabial fold, however, it does not deepen as a result of aging. Rather it is established early in life and remains fairly stable throughout life, deepening only as one gets much older in some people. The labiomental fold is a natural line of indentation below the lower lip. It is caused by the underlying attachments of the mentalis (chin) muscle as it attaches to the underside of the chin skin. The position of the teeth (and the development of the lower jaw) can also influence how deep the labiomental fold is… if the lower teeth are too far back the lower lip folds under causing a deepening of the depth of the fold.
While most people pay no attention to how deep their nasolabial fold area is, there are a few that do not like how deep it is. The labiomental fold can be softened by injectable fillers. I always block the area first by a few intraoral injections of local anesthetic in the lower lip vestibule. Any of the injectable fllers will work but I prefer those that last the longest, usually injecting Juvaderm, Perlane, Radiesse, or Artefill. All of these will last around one year or longer.
Injection of the labiomental fold is a very economical site to treat as the volume of material that needs to be injected is fairly low. Generally, about a half (0.5) cc is all that is needed. That is about half of the amount used to treat the lips and way less than half of what is usually injected into the facial parentheses areas.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana