Nasolabial-angle surgery — the angle to check when the mouth looks protrusive without actual protrusion

01

Why does the mouth look protrusive without actual protrusion?

The mouth standing out in profile doesn't mean every case counts as a protrusive mouth — because teeth alignment and chin position are often in normal range.

That's when it must be checked whether the angle between tip and upper lip — the philtrum's angle — is excessively folded. If the area below the tip looks sunken in profile, or the lips look pushed forward while the front has no big problem — nasolabial-angle surgery can be considered.

When judging, not just the angle but facial proportion and philtrum length get examined together.

02

To what degree does the nasolabial angle get set?

This article's criteria are 90–95° for men, 95–105° for women — but the angle needing correction differs per person. Adjusting the nasolabial angle softens the line running tip-to-philtrum, which can be perceived as the lips having moved back.

What matters is adjusting without excess. Making the angle too large can conversely make the tip look upturned or give an unnatural impression. So the possible range gets set first, then guidance allows choosing within it.

03

Can't the sunken area just be filled with an implant?

In the past, nasolabial-angle surgery mainly used a method packing cartilage or a silicone implant into the sunken area.

But this method ends up placing an implant on a high-movement area right above the lips — so cases appear where foreign-body sensation is felt when talking or smiling, or the implant shows through.

The nasolabial-angle surgery KOWON currently performs approaches without inserting cartilage or an implant into the sunken area. So when deliberating nasolabial-angle correction, rather than the plain expression 'getting correction,' confirming first whether it's a method inserting an implant is advisable.

04

Is correcting the nasolabial angle alone enough?

The nasolabial angle is an important angle affecting impression — but adjusting it alone doesn't complete the impression. Because the nose's whole balance looks natural only when the flow running forehead-to-bridge-to-tip matches together.

So when deliberating nasolabial-angle correction, a process examining not just the angle itself but the tip's support structure and the bridge line together is needed.

In this flow, an autologous-tissue implant gets mentioned as one option. At KOWON, RIBFIT™ — an autologous-tissue implant processing autologous rib cartilage into cartilage particles applied as a 3D custom structure — has been applied on the basis of the nose's whole structure including the nasolabial angle. Details can be seen in the autologous-tissue implant guide.

But what matters isn't whether a specific material gets used — it's the process of first judging what support and connection the current structure needs. RIBFIT™ stays as an option — and the application direction gets decided after first organizing whether the whole nose line's flow and the support structure's balance fit.

05

Summary — read the flow, not just one angle

To summarize today's content: a protrusive-looking mouth doesn't unconditionally mean a protrusive mouth; the nasolabial angle affects impression but one angle alone doesn't complete it. Nasolabial-angle surgery must consider tip support and bridge line together — and what matters isn't a specific material but the process of judging an approach direction fitting the current structure.

If the profile angle keeps bothering, the cause in your structure can be checked in a 1:1 video consultation. Actual correction cases can be seen in the before & after photos.