Lip Filler with a Dentist
Good lip filler should leave you looking like yourself, only a little more defined. Here is what treatment with a dentist involves, how long it lasts, and the risks you deserve to understand before you book.
What Should I Expect From Lip Filler with a Dentist in Edinburgh?
Lip filler is a hyaluronic acid gel injected in small amounts to shape, define or add a little volume to the lips, and it usually lasts around six to twelve months. At Comely Bank Dental in Edinburgh, Dr Miranda Paterson provides lip filler for adults over 18, only after a face-to-face consultation, and the fee is explained at that appointment. Swelling usually settles within a week or two, and the filler can be dissolved if needed.
What Is Lip Filler, and What Can It Do?
Lip filler is a soft, clear gel made from hyaluronic acid, injected in small amounts to shape, define or add a little volume to the lips. Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in your skin, where it holds water; the version used in filler is cross-linked so that it lasts months rather than days, and most lip fillers also contain local anaesthetic.
Used well, lip filler can:
- define a lip border that has become less distinct
- balance upper and lower lips that differ noticeably in size
- correct mild asymmetry
- restore some of the fullness lips lose with age
It can't change your teeth or permanently reshape your mouth. Because hyaluronic acid filler can be dissolved with an enzyme called hyaluronidase, it is the only type we use for lips.
Natural Results: Proportion Before Volume
The lips that look most natural are rarely the biggest. They are in proportion with your face, your teeth and your smile. A few principles guide how Dr Paterson plans treatment:
- Balance between the lips. In most faces the lower lip is a little fuller than the upper. Reversing that tends to look artificial.
- Shape before size. A small amount along the border, at the Cupid's bow or at the corners often changes more than extra volume would.
- Your face as a whole. A lip size that suits one face can overwhelm another.
- Building gradually. A first treatment often uses between half a millilitre and one millilitre. Adding more later is easier and safer than taking filler away.
Photos of lips you like are useful to bring, but we'll be honest about whether that look will suit you. Results vary.
Thinking About Lip Filler?
Book a face-to-face consultation with Dr Miranda Paterson to talk through what you'd like, whether it suits your face and what the risks are. There's no obligation to go ahead.
Why Have Lip Filler with a Dentist?
Dentists study the anatomy of the head and neck in detail, including the muscles, nerves and blood vessels around the mouth, and give injections in this area as part of everyday work. That is a useful foundation for lip treatment, where knowing the position and depth of the arteries in the lip matters.
A dentist also looks at your lips alongside the teeth behind them. Your lips rest on your front teeth, so worn, missing or inward-tilted teeth can make lips look thinner. Sometimes a dental treatment such as composite bonding would make more difference than filler, or the two work best together.
A dental degree is not, on its own, a qualification in aesthetics. What matters is that the person treating you is a registered clinician with specific training in facial aesthetics, a proper consultation process and the ability to manage complications. Dr Paterson is registered with the General Dental Council (GDC 270584) and provides facial aesthetics alongside general dentistry; you can read more on our team page.
Your Consultation: What We Ask and Why
Lip filler is only carried out on adults over 18, and only after a face-to-face consultation. We'll ask about:
- Your medical history, including autoimmune conditions, bleeding disorders and any allergies, particularly to local anaesthetics
- Medicines and supplements. Blood thinners, aspirin, anti-inflammatory painkillers and some supplements can increase bruising. Never stop a prescribed medicine without speaking to your doctor first.
- Cold sores. Injections can trigger an outbreak, so we may suggest preventive antiviral treatment.
- Previous filler: what was used, when, and whether there were any problems
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding, during which we don't treat
- What you'd like to change, and why
We'll examine your lips and face, take photographs for your records and explain the risks in plain language. You'll have time to think it over. If lip filler isn't right for you, we'll tell you.
What Happens on the Day?
It helps to arrive without lipstick. On the day:
- Dr Paterson checks your medical history again and confirms the plan you agreed.
- Your lips and the skin around them are cleaned with an antiseptic.
- Numbing cream may be applied; the filler usually contains local anaesthetic too.
- The filler is placed with a very fine needle, or sometimes a blunt-tipped cannula, a little at a time, checking shape and symmetry as she goes.
- You see the result in a mirror and we go through your aftercare.
The injecting itself usually takes 15 to 30 minutes. For the first day or two, the usual advice is:
- no alcohol for 24 hours
- no strenuous exercise, saunas or hot baths for 24 to 48 hours
- don't press or massage your lips unless we've asked you to
Swelling and Bruising: A Realistic Timeline
Swelling is normal and is the main reason lips can look too big or uneven at first. A typical pattern looks like this:
| When | What's normal |
|---|---|
| Straight after | Lips look fuller than the final result, a little red and tender, with small needle marks |
| Days 1 to 3 | Swelling peaks, often worst on waking; lips can look lumpy or uneven |
| Days 4 to 7 | Most swelling settles; any bruises change colour as they fade |
| Around 2 weeks | Bruising has usually gone and the filler has settled into its final shape |
Some people bruise more than others, so book at least two weeks before a wedding, holiday or anything where photographs matter. Two weeks is also when we review the result: small adjustments are made once the swelling has gone.
How Long Does Lip Filler Last?
For most people, lip filler lasts around six to twelve months. Your lips move constantly when you talk and eat, so filler there tends to break down faster than elsewhere in the face. How long yours lasts depends on the product, the amount used and your metabolism, so results vary.
The change is gradual rather than sudden, and you don't have to keep topping it up; if you stop, your lips slowly return to their natural shape.
Filler can stay in the tissues for longer than its visible effect, so we top up only when there is a clear reason, not on a fixed timetable. Frequent top-ups are a common cause of overfilled lips and of filler drifting above the lip line.
What Are the Risks, and How Are They Managed?
Any injection carries some risk. Most side effects are minor and short-lived, but you should know about the rare, serious ones too.
Common and usually temporary: swelling, bruising, tenderness, redness, small lumps and mild unevenness. Most settle within a week or two.
Less common: a cold sore flare-up, infection, persistent lumps, filler moving beyond the lip border, and delayed swelling weeks or months later, sometimes set off by an illness or a dental infection. Most of these can be treated.
Rare but serious: vascular occlusion. This is when filler blocks or presses on a blood vessel and reduces the blood supply to the skin. Warning signs include severe pain, or pain out of proportion to the treatment, and skin that turns pale, then mottled, dusky or bluish. It is a medical emergency, but recognised and treated quickly, the outlook is much better. Treatment is with hyaluronidase, the enzyme that dissolves hyaluronic acid filler; it is a prescription-only medicine, and we have it available at the practice.
Loss of vision after facial filler has been reported. It is extremely rare, and most reported cases involved other areas of the face, but it is one reason filler should only be given by a trained, registered clinician.
How we reduce and manage risk: a full medical history and face-to-face assessment first; small amounts, injected slowly, with care over the depth and position of blood vessels; hyaluronidase and a complications plan ready whenever we treat; and written aftercare that tells you who to contact.
If you notice severe pain, pale or dusky skin, or any change in your vision after treatment, call us at once on 0131 332 3971. If we're closed, call NHS 24 on 111, or 999 for any change in your vision.
Who Shouldn't Have Lip Filler?
Lip filler isn't right for everyone. We won't treat you, or we'll suggest waiting, if:
- you're under 18
- you're pregnant or breastfeeding
- you have a cold sore, spots or an infection on or around your lips
- you have an active dental or gum infection, or significant dental treatment planned within the next couple of weeks
- you've reacted to hyaluronic acid filler or local anaesthetic before
- you have permanent or unidentified filler already in your lips
- you have a bleeding disorder or an autoimmune condition that we haven't been able to assess properly
Lip filler is also not the answer if you feel pressured into it, or if you hope a change to your lips will settle wider worries about your appearance; in that case it is worth speaking to your GP first. We would rather say no than carry out treatment that won't help you.
Lip Filler at Comely Bank Dental
Dr Paterson provides lip filler and other facial aesthetics at our practice at 3 Comely Bank, a few minutes' walk from Stockbridge, for patients across Edinburgh. Appointments are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm, with later appointments by arrangement.
Facial aesthetics fees aren't on our general price list. Your fee is explained at your consultation and agreed before any treatment takes place. When you're ready, you can book a consultation online or call 0131 332 3971.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.