Toxin Improves Unflattering Smiles
Roger Dobson
Posted October 9, 2012
In babies a gummy smile is prized by all who witness it. In
adults it can be the source of anxiety and grief. Now research has
revealed that two simple injections into the so-called Elvis Presley
muscle can help them smile along with the rest of the world.
A study of 52 people with a gummy smile - defined as any show of
gum that extends more than two millimetres above the teeth during
smiling - revealed that doctors have discovered a way of improving
their smile with two injections of botulinium toxin rather than by
resorting to surgery.
The study, reported in Plastic Reconstruction Surgery, revealed
that patients were given injections in the levator labii superioris
nasalis muscle - otherwise known as the Elvis muscle. This is the
muscle that dilates the nostril and pulls the upper lip upwards
during a smile. It is also brought into play when someone snarls,
hence its renaming in honour of the king of rock'*'roll.
Patients given the injections were so happy with their new smiles
that they gave the treatment an average score of 9.75 out of 10. The
benefits lasted for a minimum of three months.
The researchers say the injections can also be used to treat
lopsided smiles, by varying the amount of toxin injected into the
muscles either side of the nose.
© 2012 The Independent on Sunday. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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