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Double lip is a rare oral anomaly caused by hyperplastic tissue of the labial mucosa that becomes more prominent with tension caused by smiling. This congenital or acquired abnormality can interfere with chewing, speaking, and esthetics. Recognition of double lip and appropriate surgical treatment can reduce these potential problems. The purpose of this article is to review the literature regarding double lip and present an unusual case of recurrence simultaneously involving the upper and lower lips.

No markers for the unaffected parents of children with achondroplasia (ACH) are known to date. Here, the value of oral mucosal reflectance in identifying unaffected parents of ACH patients with sporadic mutations was assessed. The study involved ACH children (n = 30), unaffected ACH parents (n = 60), and a sex- and age-matched controls (control children, n = 30; control parents, n = 60). Light reflectance of the lower gingival and vestibular oral mucosa was measured using an imaging reflectance system in the optical spectrum (400-700 nm wavelengths). Significantly higher reflectance values in the 410 to 630 nm wavelength range were observed in ACH patients (P < or = .0063), whereas significantly lower reflectance values over the whole optical spectrum were observed in ACH parents (P < or = .0001). A reflectance cutoff value < or =4.71% at the 430 nm wavelength identified ACH parents with 100% sensitivity and 96.4% specificity. These findings indicate the presence of previously unrecognized oral mucosal reflectance abnormalities in unaffected ACH parents of ACH children.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) leads to impaired extracellular matrix (ECM) structure. Since ECM plays a major role in blood vessel geometry, we tested the hypothesis of an abnormal geometrical complexity of the visible microvascular network in EDS. Twelve patients with EDS-II or EDS-III and a control population (n=12) were examined. The geometry characteristics for the networks on the lower vestibular oral mucosa were analyzed using high-resolution photographic images. Fractal dimension, D, at 2 scales (D 1-46 and D 1-15), blood vessel tortuosity (minimum-path fractal dimension , Dmin ), and relative Lempel-Ziv complexity (L-Z) values were determined. EDS vascular networks exhibited significantly higher D 1-46 (P <.00001) and D 1-15 (P <.00001), as well as L-Z complexity (P <.00001), together with lower Dmin values (P=.0001) than controls. These findings indicate the presence of a previously unrecognized microvascular network abnormality on the oral mucosa in EDS patients, and provide an additional phenotypical marker for the condition.