My upper lip disappears when I smile, how can I fix it?

Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself with a great smile, but still didn’t quite like how you looked? One of the most common reasons women aren’t happy with their smile is because their upper lip seems to vanish. This aesthetic concern is so common that it can make you feel self-conscious when smiling.

As a specialist in plastic surgery, I understand that you want to highlight the unique beauty of your face while also smiling confidently. So, let me explain why your upper lip disappears when you smile and what options you have to make it more prominent.

🧬 The Science Behind Your Smile

It’s often said that the smile is the reflection of the soul, but it’s actually a complex act that involves bones, muscles, skin, and teeth. The position of your upper jaw and teeth plays a key role in how you look when talking and laughing.

If your teeth or jaw are slightly tilted forward, your upper lip will naturally project more. On the other hand, if your jaw and teeth are positioned further back, your upper lip won’t have as much support. In this case, when you smile, your lip will move inward and won’t be visible while maintaining the muscle tension from your smile.

And since we’re talking about muscles, it’s important to mention that your face is surrounded by a complex muscle architecture. Around the lips is the orbicularis oris muscle, which is responsible for actions like opening and closing your mouth, pursing your lips, and, of course, smiling.

Some people have hyperdynamic activity in this muscle, causing it to contract strongly when they smile, which makes the lip fold or invert into the dental arch. This phenomenon is known as a “gingival smile” because it exposes much of the gums—though it’s important to note that this condition isn’t related to dental problems.

👄 Do You Know the Different Types of Smiles?

Smiles are classified based on the direction of the lips and the movement:

• Mona Lisa Smile: Also called the “commissural smile” because the corners of the lips rise and the smile is more horizontal. This smile shows less than 75% of the teeth, and the upper lip remains complete.
• Canine Smile: Also known as the “vertical” or “half” smile, it exposes 75% to 100% of the teeth and interdental papillae. The tension in the muscle may still retract the upper lip, but it remains visible.
• Gingival Smile: Also called the “high smile,” it exposes 100% of the teeth and at least a millimeter of gums or more. Here, the upper lip almost completely disappears when you smile.

💉 Lip Fillers: The Natural Solution for Your Smile

Now that we’ve addressed your main concern, let’s talk about solutions. The most effective and safest way to make a disappearing or thinning lip stand out when you smile is with lip fillers.

But did you know not all fillers are the same? To ensure a result that maintains your natural facial expression and looks 100% natural, it’s important to discuss the material being used:

• Autologous Fat: “Autologous” means it’s taken from your own body. After a liposuction, we save a bit of your fat to add volume to your lips. It’s a natural solution with minimal risk of rejection and will be gradually absorbed by your body over time.
• Hyaluronic Acid: HA is the most commonly used filler because it’s naturally found in our bodies and its main function is to hydrate and add volume to tissues. It’s an absorbable material, meaning your body gradually eliminates it over time (typically lasting 6 to 12 months).

💎 Why Choose Hyaluronic Acid Lip Fillers?

Beyond adding volume, HA attracts water, improves the quality, color, and elasticity of the lips, making them look younger and more resilient against muscle contraction.

Now, a key point: It’s not just the hyaluronic acid, but the quality of the brand and, most importantly, the expertise of the specialist. Labs make HA with different densities. For the lips, we use low or medium-density gels (soft gels) that integrate perfectly with the tissue, ensuring that your lips move naturally when talking, eating, or, most importantly, smiling.

A soft product, placed by an expert in the right layers, will never leave you with stiff or artificial-looking lips.

👩‍⚕️ Injection Technique: The Art of Correcting the Smile

Now that we’ve covered the material, let’s talk about the art of correcting a disappearing upper lip when you smile. It’s not about making the lip thicker, but about reinforcing it.

Before injecting your lips, we perform a dynamic smile analysis, observing you while you talk and smile spontaneously. This allows me to pinpoint the exact areas of maximum muscle tension.

Once we’ve identified these points, we proceed to inject microdoses of HA along the upper lip’s outline to provide the necessary support to prevent it from rolling inward or disappearing when you smile.

We can also subtly project the Cupid’s bow—the shape that gives your lips a heart-like appearance. This not only beautifies the upper lip but gives it additional support to maintain its visibility when you smile.

✅ A Complementary Treatment for Gingival Smiles

If you have a gingival smile or severe muscle hyperactivity, where your upper lip hides because of the strength of your muscles when you smile, we can complement the filler with a little botulinum toxin to relax the muscles.

This toxin, known by the brand name Botox, is injected into the elevator muscles (near the nose) to reduce the strength of the contraction when you smile, allowing your upper lip to stay visible and relaxed.

The result of combining these techniques is a smile where your lip appears hydrated, with subtle and natural definition—it no longer thins or hides, allowing you to show your teeth freely.

And the best part? These techniques give us an undetectable result for the untrained eye, but transformative for those who experience it. Your friends will notice that you look radiant and happy, but no one will know exactly why.

💖 Lip Lift: A Permanent, Beautiful Solution

Some women have a long vertical distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip (the philtrum), which makes the upper lip disappear when they smile. If this sounds like you, a lip lift might be exactly what you need.

A Lip Lift is a minor surgical procedure in which we shorten the philtrum by making a small incision just beneath the base of the nose to remove a bullhorn-shaped piece of skin. By reducing this distance, more of the upper lip’s natural volume becomes visible, and the tension around the mouth is better balanced when you smile.

The result is not only a more harmonious smile, but also a fuller, more defined upper lip with a subtle tooth show at rest — an aesthetic trait often associated with youth.

This procedure offers long-lasting, essentially permanent results and, best of all, they’re practically unnoticeable to the untrained eye. Your friends will see a fresher look and a more balanced smile, without realizing you had a small yet transformative enhancement.

💄 Ready to elevate the look of your lips?

Schedule your consultation for a full dynamic evaluation. Let’s talk about your expectations, analyze together the best option to perfect your new smile’s shape, and answer any questions you may have.

Some of the most frequently asked questions from my patients have been:

Will lip fillers give me a “duck mouth” or an exaggerated result?

Absolutely not! This is the most common fear, often based on poorly executed procedures. When the goal is to correct a disappearing lip, we aim for functionality and naturalness, not massive volume increase.

At rest, we aim for a subtly more defined and hydrated lip with a barely perceptible, perfectly natural change. When you smile, the goal is for your upper lip to maintain its volume and visibility, resisting the force that rolls it inward. The focus will be on your beautiful smile.

How do I know what type of hyaluronic acid I need?

We’ll analyze this during your consultation. I usually recommend a specific type of HA based on muscle rigidity, the level of naturalness needed, and the results we want to achieve.

How long does the effect of lip fillers last?

Due to constant movement (talking, eating, smiling), the effect on lips typically lasts from 6 to 12 months. This is considered an advantage, as it ensures the treatment adapts to the natural changes in your face and allows you to maintain the desired effect with periodic touch-ups, without the risks of permanent fillers.

Is the procedure painful?

You might feel slight discomfort during the injection, but I always aim to minimize pain by using topical anesthesia. Also, most HA fillers come mixed with lidocaine, a local anesthetic, which numbs the area.

Additionally, I use fine needles and cannulas, and I’ve perfected my technique to ensure your comfort.

Your smile is one of your best assets: you deserve to feel confident and happy with it. See you at your consultation!

Our patients’ testimonials are our best calling card.