Do dental hygienists do lips?

As dental hygiene students, we were exposed to all kinds of facts, statistics, and charts. We memorized muscles, nerves, and microbiology. In our newness to the dental world, we felt like we knew all we needed to know. But as time passed, we came to understand that it was imperative to complete continuing education. Doing so helped us keep up with changes in dentistry, expanded our knowledge beyond what we learned in school, and helped us better care for our patients.

One aspect of oral health that many hygienists are less familiar with is the lips. Let me pose a question to you: Do hygienists do lips? Until recently, I would most likely say no. But with the recent surge of lip care education and lip products in the dental market, this is all about to change, and we don’t want to get left behind.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at lip function and anatomy, common lip problems, and lip care strategies that we as dental hygienists can recommend to patients.

Lip function and anatomy

The lips surround the oral cavity and help in the formation of sounds, words, facial expressions, and mastication. The upper lip, or labium superior oris, extends from the base of the nose superiorly to the nasolabial folds laterally to the free edge of the vermilion border inferiorly. The lower lip, or labium inferior oris, extends from the superior free vermillion edge superiorly to the commissures laterally, and to the mandible inferiorly.¹ The philtrum, or medial cleft, is the midline indentation in the middle area of the upper lip. It runs from the top of the lip to the nose.² The double curve of the upper lip is often referred to as Cupid’s Bow. The peaks of the bow coincide with the philtral columns, giving a prominent bow appearance to the lip.³ The vermillion is the colored part of the lips. It is made up of highly vascularized, nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The vermillion has no hair follicles or salivary, sweat, or sebaceous glands. It is very thin, having only three to five layers of skin, compared to the 16 layers on the face. The vermillion border separates the lip or vermillion from the surrounding skin.⁴

Massaging the lips also promotes collagen production.⁸Collagen is an abundant protein in the body that is responsible for keeping our body, bones, skin, and lips held together, giving it strength and structure.⁹ For our lips, this allows them to look filled out and smooth. As we age, our body produces less and less collagen naturally, which leads to wrinkles and thinner lips.¹⁰

The process of using the lip scrub in a circular motion on the lips helps to rejuvenate damaged skin cells and combat environmental pollutants and conditions that impact skin texture. A hyaluronic acid lip mask is also recommended to be used after the lip scrub. A mask with this ingredient can condition the lips, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and naturally plump your lips. The lips need hydration as well as conditioning.

To hydrate the lips daily, a vitamin E based serum should be applied. We know that Vitamin E contains antioxidant properties that focus on protection of skin cells.¹¹ Before bed is an ideal time to apply the serum, because at night the air around us tends to dry out the lips. Not only is it crucial to hydrate the lips with a natural lip serum, it is important to hydrate the skin and lips by drinking water.

Conclusion

As dental professionals, we certainly recognize our patients' intraoral needs and the role that we play in their oral hygiene and dental needs. It is important that as dentistry evolves, and as new ways to treat our patients develop, we need to educate ourselves and be willing to perform new treatments. Introducing our knowledge about the extraoral lip region and strategies about lip care will only benefit our patients and possibly prevent common lip problems and discomfort.

References

https://emedicine medscape.com/article/835209 updated 10/23/13, author: Babak Jahan-Parwar; MD Chief Editor, Keith Blackwell; MD
medicineplus.gov, US National Library of Medicine
Educalingo.com, Cupid’s Bow
www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov, National Center for Biotechnology Information
https:/www.canstockphoto.com>(c)canstockphoto/be_moll
www.healthline.com, What causes chapped lips and how to treat them, Dec. 17,2017, written by Kristeen Moore, medically reviewed by Christine Frank, DDS
www.pmfajournal.com, anatomy of the aging lip, the pmfa journal, Dec 1, 2016, author: Sotirios Foutsizoglou
melaniesutrathada.com, reassons to exfoliate your lips, April 5, 2017
https://www.westlakedermatology.com, Dec. 27, 2016
www.cheekyphysique.com, 5 easy ways to plump your lips without injections, Aug 20, 2018, by Cheeky Physique
https://www.news-medical.net>health>what-is-collagen, June 5, 2019
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