Advanced: DAO and mentalis for the lower face — getting marionette and chin right
Starting to treat the lower face. How are you approaching DAO (downturned mouth corners) and mentalis (chin pebbling) safely?
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Lower face is where precision really counts because the perioral muscles are small and interlinked. • DAO (depressor anguli oris): typically ~2–5 units per side. Inject low and lateral, near the jawline over the mandibular body, to catch the DAO and avoid drifting medially into the depressor labii inferioris — hit that and you get an asymmetric smile or lower-lip weakness. Ask the patient to pull the corners of the mouth down/grimace to locate it. • Mentalis: ~4–8 units for the 'orange-peel'/pebbled chin, usually 1–2 points low on the chin. Too high or too much and you can affect lip competence. Marionette lines themselves are usually a filler job — toxin softens the downward pull of the DAO, filler addresses the actual crease. They work beautifully together but manage expectations that DAO toxin alone won't erase an established marionette line.
- Asher ★ 0
The DAO/depressor-labii distinction is the whole game here. Low and lateral, and less is more.
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