Lip Service or Lip Seal? Can Cosmetic Enhancements Sabotage Sleep?

In this episode of Beyond Breathing, host Lancette VanGuilder explores a critical, often-overlooked topic at the intersection of aesthetics and function. Botox and lip fillers promise beauty on the outside—but are they quietly changing how you breathe?

We’ll look at how injectables can unintentionally weaken lip closure, promote mouth breathing, and affect sleep quality. Lancette highlights the clinical science, shares fresh statistics on injectable use, and explains why annual sleep studies are an essential preventive step for both patients and providers.

Whether you’re a dental or medical professional, an aesthetic injector, or someone considering cosmetic procedures, this episode will give you the facts you need to protect both appearance and airway health.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Injectables by the Numbers: In 2024, U.S. patients received nearly 10 million neuromodulator injections and 5.3 million HA filler procedures, with younger adults (18–34) rapidly growing as a segment.
• Lip Competence Matters: Why lip seal is essential for nasal breathing, craniofacial development, and oral health—and how injectables can undermine it.
• The Double Hit: How Botox around the nose weakens the nasalis muscle, reducing nasal airflow, while fillers impede lip seal—leading to more mouth breathing.
• Health Consequences: Chronic mouth breathing increases facial aging, compromises sleep, and elevates oral disease risk.
• Root Cause & Prevention: How to assess function before injection, refer to myofunctional therapy, and promote annual sleep studies to catch airway issues early.
• Beauty + Health: Why aesthetics and airway health must go hand-in-hand for lasting, functional results.

Key Takeaways:

• Botox and lip fillers can unintentionally weaken the lips’ ability to close at rest.
• Lip incompetence leads to mouth breathing, which can affect craniofacial growth, oral health, and sleep quality.
• Always assess function first, refer as needed, and encourage patients to get annual sleep studies.
• Beauty and health aren’t separate—they’re interconnected systems. When aesthetics respect anatomy, everyone wins.

References Mentioned in This Episode:

1. Morphological differences in children with oral vs. nasal breathing—University of Palermo, 2025 (MDPI link).
2. Lip flip Botox risks—muscle relaxation leading to drooling or impaired function (Cleveland Clinic).
3. Botox around the nose may weaken nasalis muscle (The Skin Center MD).
4. Lip augmentation complications: asymmetry, lip incontinence, muscle strain (PubMed).
5. Mouth breathing’s effect on facial injections and oral health (Amara Aesthetics).

Why Listen:

This episode shines a light on a rapidly growing area of dentistry, aesthetics, and airway health. If you’re in the injectable business—or considering it—understanding these functional consequences can set you apart as a safety-first, prevention-focused provider.