The Role of Your Upper Lip in Your Smile

There are many considerations for a person who is working with a cosmetic dentist to improve the look and quality of their teeth. One factor that many people don’t realize is the role that the shape of their mouth – particularly their upper lip – plays in their smile and how their teeth look.

According to leading Canadian cosmetic dentists Andrew Charkiw and Armaghan Afsar, when people smile their upper lips move in one of three ways depending on which facial muscles are dominant. In 65 percent of the population the muscles on the corners of the mouth are the strongest, leading to a smile that highlights the lower part of the upper teeth equally. For people with this smile pattern, veneers on the front of the teeth can dramatically improve their appearance.

Another 30 percent have the opposite smile type – the muscles at the top of their lip are more dominant than in the corners of their mouth, showing off their canine teeth. A final five percent have the two muscles working equally, with their smile highlighting their gum line.