How To Repair A Crooked Smile With Botox  – Lovely With Brains

Final Up to date on December 31, 2025 by Giorgia Guazzarotti

You went in for Botox and got here out trying such as you had a stroke, and now one facet of your face received’t cooperate once you smile and actually it is a nightmare you weren’t ready for as a result of no one warned you this might occur. Welcome to the world of crooked smiles after Botox injections, and I’m right here to inform you what went improper, find out how to repair it, and the way lengthy you’re caught with this mess since you deserve precise solutions as a substitute of reassurances that “it’ll be high-quality” when proper now it very a lot doesn’t really feel high-quality.

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What Occurs To Your Smile When Botox Goes Incorrect

Your smile makes use of a number of facial muscle tissue working collectively: the zygomaticus muscle tissue carry your mouth corners, the levator labii superioris pulls up your higher lip, the risorius muscle pulls corners towards your ears, and the depressor labii inferioris pulls down your decrease lip. When Botox hits the improper muscle or spreads the place it shouldn’t, the entire system falls aside and also you get that asymmetrical smile that has folks asking in the event you’re okay. Right here’s in all probability what occurred primarily based on the place you bought injected:

• Crow’s toes therapy gone improper: The injection was too low or too deep and hit your zygomaticus muscle tissue, so now you may’t carry one nook of your mouth correctly and your smile appears to be like lopsided and bizarre.
• Lip flip or bunny traces: Botox unfold to your LLSAN muscle and now your higher lip received’t carry on one facet, which makes you seem like half your face is frozen whereas the opposite half strikes usually.
• Masseter botox for facial slimming: Tremendous in style on TikTok however dangerous as hell as a result of if the masseter injections are too shallow they have an effect on your risorius muscle and abruptly the nook of your mouth received’t pull out the way in which it ought to once you smile.
• DAO therapy for downturned mouth: The botulinum toxin remedies unfold from the depressor anguli oris to your depressor labii muscle and now your decrease lip is asymmetrical once you speak or smile, which is additional irritating since you acquired therapy to enhance your smile and as a substitute made it worse.

The rationale it solely impacts one facet is as a result of Botox doesn’t journey removed from the place it’s injected, so that you get this apparent uneven smile the place one facet works high-quality and the opposite is partially paralyzed.

What Causes A Crooked Smile With Botox

Your injector made a mistake, whether or not from inexperience or unhealthy method or simply not understanding facial anatomy nicely sufficient to work across the mouth safely. The decrease face isn’t newbie territory: the muscle tissue of the decrease face overlap and intertwine and there’s nearly no margin for error, which is why good aesthetic practitioners don’t let newer injectors wherever close to this space.

In case your supplier didn’t watch you smile and animate your face earlier than injecting, that’s an enormous purple flag as a result of you may’t plan correct injection methods with out seeing how somebody’s particular person facial muscle tissue truly transfer. In the event that they have been dashing or in the event you acquired a deal at a med spa operating specials, that’s precisely the setup the place smile asymmetry issues occur as a result of the enterprise mannequin prioritizes quantity over taking time to evaluate every affected person correctly.

Injection depth issues enormously too. Too shallow and Botox spreads throughout the floor hitting the improper muscle tissue. Too deep and it migrates to deeper layers affecting totally different actions completely. The “appropriate” depth varies by muscle, location, and the way a lot fats you’ve there, and quite a lot of injectors simply don’t have sufficient coaching to guage this precisely each time.

How To Repair It

Therapy Possibility One: Do Nothing and Wait

This facet impact of Botox are non permanent, which suggests your crooked smile will ultimately resolve by itself as soon as the botulinum toxin injections put on off and your muscle perform returns. When Botox spreads to muscle tissue it wasn’t purported to have an effect on it normally wears off sooner than when it’s correctly positioned. You’re two to 4 weeks for minor asymmetry from unfold, although it may take as much as three or 4 months in some circumstances.

The excellent news is it’ll undoubtedly go away. The unhealthy information is strolling round for weeks or months with an asymmetrical smile that impacts the way you eat, drink, speak, and present up on the earth, and that’s a very long time to take care of emotional stress and folks always asking what’s improper together with your face. Select this selection if the asymmetry is gentle or in the event you don’t belief anybody to make it higher with out probably making it worse.

Therapy Possibility Two: Get Corrective Botox

You may get strategic botulinum toxin injections on the other facet to steadiness issues out and create symmetry, however right here’s the catch no one explains correctly: you’re staggering remedies now, which creates a timing drawback. Let’s say your unhealthy injection was on the left facet at day zero. By day ten your crooked smile seems. You get corrective therapy on the fitting facet at day seventeen to steadiness it out. For weeks six by way of twelve you’ve lovely symmetry as a result of each side are equally affected. However then round week 13 the unique left facet begins carrying off whereas the fitting continues to be frozen, so now you’ve asymmetry once more however reversed. By week twenty all the pieces’s worn off and also you’re again to regular.

This implies you’ll seemingly want one other correction when the primary injection wears off to keep away from that reversed asymmetry section, and also you’re primarily committing to managing this example over a number of months reasonably than simply ready it out, however you probably have necessary work occasions otherwise you’re in a patient-facing position or that is critically affecting your psychological well being then the corrective therapy may be your only option even with the timing issues.

If You Go The Correction Route

Don’t return to whoever messed this up until they’re a extremely respected plastic surgeon or dermatologist who takes full duty and has a transparent plan to repair it. Discover somebody board-certified with superior coaching who particularly has expertise with corrective remedies and who can clarify precisely which muscle they suppose was affected and the place they’ll inject to steadiness it.

Ask them “what occurs when the unique injection wears off” and in the event that they don’t instantly perceive the staggering drawback I simply defined, stroll away as a result of they don’t know sufficient about this to be fixing your face. The correction itself is normally conservative dosing: possibly two to 3 models on the unaffected facet to create steadiness with out over-freezing you right into a joker smile from an excessive amount of leisure of your depressor muscle tissue.

Velocity Up Restoration (Possibly)

Some suppliers counsel infrared laser remedies or radiofrequency to extend blood movement and probably velocity up how briskly your physique metabolizes the Botox, however the proof is generally anecdotal and these remedies aren’t low cost and insurance coverage undoubtedly received’t cowl them. Therapeutic massage received’t assist regardless of what you may learn on-line: it received’t velocity something up and may truly unfold the Botox additional.

Dwelling With It Till It Resolves

Sensible stuff: take smaller bites when consuming, use common cups as a substitute of straws since your lip management is compromised, wipe your mouth extra ceaselessly, and possibly inform shut pals what occurred so that they cease asking in the event you’re okay. You may attempt strategic make-up contouring to attenuate the visible asymmetry barely however actually it’s nonetheless going to be noticeable and also you simply have to simply accept that for nevertheless lengthy this lasts.

The psychological well being piece is actual: that is genuinely distressing and it’s okay to be upset about it as a result of it impacts each social interplay and the way you current your self to the world. If it’s actually affecting your emotional wellbeing speak to somebody as a result of the psychological influence of trying within the mirror and never recognizing your personal smile will not be nothing.

Easy methods to By no means Let This Occur Once more

Solely get Botox from board-certified plastic surgeons, dermatologists, or maxillofacial surgeons with years of expertise, not months. Take a look at their portfolio particularly for decrease face work. Keep away from med spas operating Groupon specials or wherever doing high-volume appointments the place you by no means meet your precise injector beforehand.

The decrease face – something round your mouth, alongside your jaw, close to the oral commissure – is high-risk territory that requires critical experience in facial anatomy and injection methods, so in the event you should do masseter discount or DAO therapy or anything down there, solely belief somebody who’s been doing this because the early 2000s when these things first turned in style and who has the expertise to deal with issues in the event that they come up.

And comply with aftercare like your face will depend on it as a result of it does: keep upright for 4 hours minimal after your Botox therapy, don’t rub or therapeutic massage the realm, keep away from warmth and train for 24 hours, and don’t lie face-down or do something which may trigger migration.

Associated: How To Discover The Proper Botox Practitioner

The Backside Line

Your crooked smile will return to regular. That’s not a possibly, that’s a particular, as a result of the results of Botox are non permanent by design and your facial features will return as soon as your overactive muscle tissue can perform once more. Whether or not you wait it out or get corrective therapy, that is fixable and it has an finish date regardless that proper now it feels infinite. You’re not caught with this endlessly, you now know far more about facial muscle tissue and depressor labii and masseter muscle tissue than you ever needed to know, and also you’ll by no means make the error of selecting an inexperienced injector once more. In just a few months this shall be a narrative you inform about that point Botox went improper, not the truth you’re dwelling daily.