Smile Lines

What Are Smile Lines?

Smile lines are peri-oral lines or lines that form around the mouth with repeated smiling and movement of your mouth with speech over time. They are sometimes called ‘accordion lines’.

Smile lines, in part, are due to repetitive muscle pull at the corners of your mouth by your risorius muscle. This muscle is responsible for widening your smile. It is a thin muscle only found in hominids, which includes humans and the great apes, evolving from a common ancestor. Interestingly, not all humans have a risorius muscle.

Smile lines also form from loss of volume in the hollows around your mouth, known as your buccal hollows, with ageing. Deep buccal fat shrinks over time, reducing support for the skin above, which enables it to crease more readily.

With increasing skin laxity as you mature, these creases or lines become more and more ingrained. Youthful skin contains greater quantities of elastin and collagen fibres than aged skin, creating a firm and elastic outer envelope. Aged skin cannot rebound back in the same way as youthful skin, leaving you with more permanent smile lines.

It is normal to have smile lines and always good to be smiling, but if deeply ingrained, they can contribute to a more aged look.

How Can Melbourne’s Dr. Jodie Clinic Help With Your Smile Line Concerns?

Your Dr. Jodie clinician offers comprehensive consultations to address your smile line concerns.

Given the multifactorial nature of causes of smile lines, a combination approach is generally recommended. Treatments may include medical treatments, skin care, skin peels, LED therapy, mono threads, Laser Genesis, and the Scarlet S Radio Frequency Microneedling. No one wants to stop you from smiling, so anything that increases the firmness and elasticity of your skin is very beneficial when it comes to rejuvenating smile lines.

Please note that any treatment that includes the use of schedule 4 medications cannot legally be advertised online, as directed by our governing body the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), so it is not a feature of our discussion here.

Your first step is always a consultation appointment with your Dr. Jodie clinician for assessment.

What Happens At Your Consultation For Smile Lines At Melbourne’s Dr. Jodie Clinic?

Your Dr. Jodie clinician will carefully evaluate your face, your facial expression when smiling or talking, and your pattern of smile lines. She will also consider any volume loss around your mouth and your skin quality in her assessment. Based on her review and your past medical history, she will determine whether you are a good candidate for treatment and recommend the best combination to optimise your results. Most importantly, your treatment plan will be based on your unique aesthetic requirements.

Your Dr. Jodie clinician will explain all steps involved in your plan, including the treatment process itself, any treatment risks or benefits, your expected recovery time, and associated costs. At the Dr. Jodie clinic, we believe that informed consent, both medical and financial, is essential before proceeding with any cometic treatment. And of course, as part of the consent process, you will have ample time to have all your questions answered during your appointment.

We will also document your progress each visit with standardised clinical photography. In our experience, with subtle changes, it is common to adjust quickly to your new look and forget where you began!

Tailored Approach To Your Smile Lines In Melbourne

Although it is normal to develop smile lines over time, there should never be a never a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Your Dr. Jodie clinician will assess your unique face and devise a treatment plan that is personalised to your aesthetic needs, goals, lifestyle, and budget. If you have youth on your side, you will likely require a different approach to someone on the mature side of life, especially if you consider the decline in peri-oral volume and skin quality that occurs with ageing. At the Dr. Jodie clinic, you can feel confident that you will always receive personalised, high-level care. Your Dr. Jodie clinician will ensure you receive just the right combination of treatments tailored just for you. You will never have to settle for a ‘cookie cutter’ approach.

Refershed Focus For Smile Line Concerns At Melbourne’s Dr. Jodie Clinic

Over time, your repeated smiling will result in visible lines, which may persist even when you are not smiling. The good news is that the Dr. Jodie clinic offers solution-focused consultations to help minimise your ingrained smile lines. Your Dr. Jodie clinician, with her honed aesthetic eye and light-handed approach, will always aim for a subtle outcome through conservative measures. In the wrong hands, some treatments could leave you looking puffy or bulky. Your Dr. Jodie clinician will create an individualised smile line treatment plan that leaves you feeling refreshed, without the tell-tale signs of cosmetic intervention. Moreover, she will take a ‘whole face’ approach to smoothing the skin around your mouth by addressing all factors contributing to your smile lines. This is the only way non-surgically to achieve a lasting, normal looking result.

Trust The Dr. Jodie Clinic With Your Smile Line Concerns In Melbourne

With longer appointment times for thorough assessment and careful delivery of treatment, the Dr. Jodie clinic takes a holistic approach to your smile line concerns. With over 15 years of experience as a cosmetic doctor, Dr. Jodie has trained extensively with some of Melbourne’s leading cosmetic dermatologists. She is also a national clinical trainer for a leading pharmaceutical company and regularly educates other doctors, nurses, and specialists in the nuances of treatment. Dr. Jodie has personally mentored and trained her own Dr. Jodie clinicians so you can feel confident in the level of care that you will receive. A trusted name in Melbourne for smile line treatments, the Dr. Jodie clinic will always prioritise your health and well-being, alongside your best aesthetic result.