The Lips, Mouth, Tongue and Teeth: Part III

The lips are highly visible, aesthetically important structures that are essential for speech articulation, eating, expressing emotion and tactile sensation. Due to their prominent location on the face, lacerations are common and can be quite disfiguring. Lacerations can occur following localised trauma, or lip-biting following seizures or dental local anaesthetic. They may also be seen as part of more extensive facial injuries. This may be due to metal or glass, or from a blunt impact resulting in the teeth splitting the lips from inside out. Both lips have an abundant vascular supply and consequently bleeding and swelling can be quite severe. This can usually be controlled with pressure and a little ice. However this high level of vascularity also means that avulsed tissues should always be preserved whenever possible, even if attached by a thin pedicle. The infraorbital nerves on either side, provide sensation to the upper lip, the mental nerves provide sensation to the lower. The motor supply is primarily from the buccal and marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerve. Weakness of loss of sensation should always be carefully documented.