The masks are coming off!  Are you smile-ready?  Smiles are more than just teeth and gums. They involve your lips also.  Besides lip injections with fillers or implants, how else can you achieve an increase in your pout?

During the bulk of the pandemic, plastic surgeons were seeing a rise in rhinoplasties and blepharoplasties. This was likely due to the fact that the lower half of our faces were covered up, emphasizing our nose and eyes more than ever. But as people are getting vaccinated and life is somewhat returning to normal, the masks are coming off and focus is returning to the smile.

Everyone seems to want a plumper upper lip and a bright attractive smile.  So more and more people are seeking “lip sync”, a combination of procedures where a cosmetic dentist would add veneers to the front teeth of a patient, and a plastic surgeon would perform a lip lift, an in-office procedure that would surgically shorten the distance between the bottom of the nose and the top of the pink part of the lip, or the vermillion. The recovery from this procedure is one week and this allows someone to have a beautiful natural looking smile.

Their veneers are not elongated, because their upper lip can be shortened so that it will show off their new veneers. The upper lip ends up looking much fuller and more natural without having fillers. It’s great for people who want to add height instead of volume to their lips. It’s a win-win for the patient, and made possible through the collaboration of cosmetic dentists and plastic surgeons!

The Problem:

As we age, the philtral length, which is the distance between the nose and the upper lip, continues to increase by 1 mm each decade. At the same time, teeth get shorter from wearing down and we show less teeth during rest, which means that with speaking and smiling the smile becomes less attractive.

Usually cosmetic dentists make the teeth longer through crowns or veneers to restore this smile.  When someone is older and wants to restore their smile, usually the dentist will increase the length of their teeth. This does not always bode well because the teeth start looking like Chiclets when they are longer than their ideal length (10mm to 10.5mm).

The Solution: a Lip Sync!

In search of the more natural looking smile, the cosmetic dentist realizes that by working together with a plastic surgeon to raise the patient’s upper lip he or she would only have to lengthen the patient’s teeth by little bit. Thus was born the “Lip Sync”.  Through collaboration between plastic surgeons and cosmetic dentists, patients can have the most natural results.  This idea was coined by a dentist-plastic duo working together in New York City, however, we are proud to tell you that Cleveland Ohio is not far behind!

The obsession for the “Lip Sync” procedure is real, and Drs. Maria Papich-Forsyth and Diana Ponsky have teamed up to educate their patients on this highly sought after, popular choice! Dr. Ponsky is a facial plastic surgeon who is double board-certified in facial plastic surgery and otolaryngology.  She has performed countless lip lifts (both direct and indirect) procedures in the Beachwood Ohio office, as well as in the surgery centers. Dr. Papich-Forsyth is a cosmetic dentist practicing in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. If you’re interested in improving your whole smile, set up a consultation to discuss a Lip Sync!