Lip Fillers – Forest Park, OH
A Different Way to Enhance Your Smile
Going to the dentist for a cosmetic procedure such as lip fillers may seem unusual until dental patients stop to consider how much experience dentists have with the face, mouth, and teeth. When viewed in that light, dentists are the ideal professionals to complete this procedure.
Lip fillers at our Forest Park, OH dental office are just one of the injectable services offered at Kemper Meadow Family Dentistry. Patients who have had lip fillers implanted tell us that having the procedure done at the dentist is more convenient and wait times for an appointment are much shorter. They also appreciate the extensive research and experience of dentists that often surpasses those in other professions offering the same procedure.
What is the Purpose of Getting Lip Fillers?
Each of our four dentists has the experience and tools to provide patients with lip fillers upon request. People who come in for lip fillers do so because they want to add volume to their top and bottom lips. Other reasons for the procedure include:
- Enhancing the border of the lips
- Reduce or eliminate wrinkles and lines around the lips
- Define the area of the lips known as the Cupid’s bow
- Lift the corners of the top and bottom lips
- Straighten uneven lips
Our dentists typically favor hydraulic acid as a filling material but may use different materials if they think the patient would have a better result. The process does not leave patients with overly exaggerated large lips as some people claim. They just look more proportionate to the rest of the patient’s facial features.
Human skin is extremely elastic and lips will never stretch so far that they become lax. The patient’s lips will gradually return to the pre-injection size as their body metabolizes the dermal filler. The results of receiving lip filler can be subtle or dramatic depending on the patient’s preferences.
How Dental Patients Should Prepare to Get Lip Fillers in Forest Park, OH and What to Expect
We ask patients to stop taking anything that could act as a blood thinner about 10 days before the procedure. Common examples include alcohol, fish oil, vitamin E supplements, and ibuprofen. The reason for this is that blood thinners can cause patients to have excess bruising and swelling after receiving lip fillers or for these typical side effects to last longer than the normal two to three days.
The dentist completing the lip filler procedure starts the appointment by providing the patient with numbing anesthetic on the lips and around the mouth. Once the patient feels comfortable, the next step is to inject dermal fillers into the lips using a cannula or small needle. However, the dentist only injects the areas where the patient desires greater definition or volume. Dermal fillers add shape, plumpness, and definition to the lips almost immediately. Patients should expect to spend about 30 minutes at Kemper Meadow Family Dentistry from the start to the end of the procedure.
What Types of Results Can Dental Patients Expect from Lip Fillers?
Although the gel in dermal fillers produces instant changes in how a patient’s lips look, they may not see the difference for a few days due to normal swelling and bruising. Applying an ice pack and taking a non-prescription pain reliever is typically all patients need to do after a dentist implants dermal fillers in their lips. These side effects normally disappear within one to three days, and the intended results of the procedure will be much more noticeable.
The results of dermal fillers in the lips can last anywhere from three months to one year, depending on the type and brand name the patient chooses. People also metabolize the filler material differently, which means that results can be shorter or longer than average. Most patients come in for touch-up sessions four to six months after receiving lip fillers for the first time. Touch-up sessions help the lips look as plump as possible.
What Types of Lip Fillers Are Available?
As mentioned above, hydraulic dermal fillers are the most popular type used to enhance the lips. Some leading brands include Juvéderm, Restylane, and Perlane. Juvéderm offers a smoother gel than the other types, which can make it easier for our dentists to move it around on the patient’s lips. Juvéderm manufacturers have created Juvéderm Ultra XC and Juvéderm Volbella XC specifically to enhance the lips.
The gel consistency in Restylane is thicker and firmer than Juvéderm, which makes the injection site stronger than with other types. The company created Restylane Silk specifically for lip augmentation purposes, but it has also indicated that no one under age 21 should use this product. Dentists do not use Perlane as a lip filler due to it having a dense formula that is difficult to manipulate.
Collagen lip fillers are another option, but doctors and dentists typically do not use them for lip augmentation. These dermal fillers are more appropriate for treatments on the face, such as wrinkle reduction.
Side Effects of Lip Fillers Are Usually Minimal
Bruising and swelling near the injection site are extremely common side effects after this procedure and should disappear quickly. Allergic reactions, scarring, and infection are more serious side effects that patients should report to us right away. Fortunately, these are uncommon and most people cannot tell that someone even had the procedure after the first few days.
Patients should expect to experience discomfort during the procedure since the lips are one of the most sensitive areas of the human body. Our dentists use topical numbing cream for this reason, and most types of hydraulic acid contain a pain reliever called lidocaine for additional relief.
Activities to Avoid After Receiving Dermal Fillers
We recommend that patients do not get a massage for two weeks after this procedure because lying flat on the face can greatly increase swelling. Although the results of receiving lip fillers will not change, getting a massage too soon afterward will increase the healing time. Patients should also avoid facial massages since the therapist could accidentally nudge hydraulic acid in the lips out of place.
While we love to see our patients, we also recommend that they avoid all dental procedures for four weeks after receiving dermal fillers in the lips. The reason is that one of our dentists could accidentally displace the filler, especially if any of it is inside the patient’s mouth. Additionally, a dental cleaning could increase bacteria in the blood that lands on the filling material and result in chronic infection.
Lastly, patients should avoid alcohol entirely on the day of their appointment and limit intake for a few weeks afterward. Alcohol acts to dissolve blood clots under the skin, leading to more bruising and swelling than the patient would experience otherwise.