Create the "Smile" (Part 2 of 4)
 | | Creating the Smile |
Now that we have checked out our smile in front of the mirror (part 1 of 4 of the "Smile") and looked like a fool in the process, we can now move on to setting the features of the deceased. Setting the features properly is key to any embalming. There are many ways to close the mouth. There is the "Muscular Suture" where the ligature is passed under the tongue muscle with either a "C" curve or "S" curve needle then up through & under the upper lip, through the septum of the nose and back down to tie. There is the "Mandibular Suture" where the ligature is generally passed under the tongue and out the lower chin area inferior to the Mentalis (protrusion of the chin). Next, the needle is reversed and inserted in the same exit hole that was formed when the needle exited, but now is passed in front of the Mentalis bone and up through the gum line in front of the lower teeth or gum-line. Next, the ligature is passed up through the septum of the nose and back down behind the upper lip. The two ends of the ligature then are tied to one another to secure the mouth. The "Needle Injector" Where the mouth is secured by way of rivets driven into the gums via mechanical or electric hammer. One rivet is nailed into the upper gum and one in the lower gum. Each rivet has a wire attached to the rivet allowing the embalmer to twist the two together until the mouth closes. The wires are next tucked along the teeth line out of view so the lips can close as naturally as possible. All the aforementioned techniques are certainly widely accepted but not by me or my full time embalmers. For those that have seen my Pleasant Expression seminar know how much I dislike the aforementioned techniques. For those that have not been, I'll try to explain myself in a few short paragraphs.
The first thing I do when faced with a problem in the prep room (and in life for that matter) is try to evaluate all reasonable solutions to the problem. I am willing to listen to others, to make my job easier. I will also weigh out the options. If it makes sense I'll try it! If another way is better than my way, you can bet I'm going to want to learn the better way and disregard old less useful ways. Sometimes it's hard to let go of old habits. Sometimes its even harder to tell someone with more experience that there way may not be the best. Either way, I asks that you simply read the techniques that work best for me, chew on them and give them serious consideration. When you finish reading, decide for yourself if it's worth trying... If not, then you're only out a few minutes of reading time... :-) Okay, now that we have our eyes and ears ready to receive and have an open mind to weigh out the options, lets GO!
Even though these previously mentioned techniques are widely used, accepted and even taught I believe each of them have more reasons not to be used than to be. Lets take a look at them one at a time before going into what I do to get the most natural closure.
 | | When capillaries break, lips swell. |
#1 the "Muscular Suture" - I don't use this technique for a couple reasons. Mainly because in order to perform this procedure you must pass the needle and ligature from one side of the 'lower lip gum-line area' to the other, basically tearing through a bed of capillaries and using that soft delicate tissue as an anchor to keep the jaw shut. Think about it for just a moment... Have you ever been hit in the lip? Bad enough to bleed? Well how much does it bleed? It swells, bleeds and hurts like a son of a bleep eh? Well, as an embalmer you won't have to worry about the pain of it all but you may want to consider the capillaries and the swelling too... Yup, I said swelling. Lets face it, swelling can be caused by blood spilling into the tissue when capillaries are busted. When a needle and string are passed through a bed of capillaries that is what will happen. The only difference is arterial fluid will be filling in where blood isn't. Once you break the tiny vessels in the lip they will not repair themselves as if the person were alive. They simply allow fluid to pour out of them and fill into the tissue. It may and probably is very minute but nevertheless its happening. Next, it disfigures the lower lip and if you do not believe me, and you know someone who is an expert at this technique without changing the features - then I encourage you to have that person take a needle and string into the bathroom, in front of the mirror and do it to themselves and pull up on the string and see if their lip changes from the "norm". The look I'm referring to is the "dip in the lip" look. It gives the appearance that the lower lip is filled with chewing tobacco. It just gives a pulled unnatural look. Even the best, that take large amounts of tissue from one side of the lip to the other, it still looks like the lower lip is being
 | | Profile of face to show contour: Mentalis to Maxilla. |
pulled upon.
#2 the "Mandibular Suture"-
"Okay, there are many things wrong with this technique. Although it is arguably the strongest closure, it is probably one of the most unnatural closures there is. Here is why. When you pass the needle and ligature through the bottom of the chin via the inside, you create a hole... (I know, you burn through the muscle so the dimple goes away... I know, I know) I'm not only referring to the occasional dimple and hole issue, I'm also addressing the 'bridged lip' issue. This is when the Mentalis bone or the pointy part of the chin is bridged to the Maxilla or the upper teeth area. You see, there are many curvatures and contours to the mouth from the maxilla to chin. Take a look at the illustration. If you were to place a straight piece of ligature around the Mantalis bone and up to the Maxilla it would change the contours of the lips. When a piece of string is passed around the chin and up over the maxilla, it creates a noticeable line marking where the ligature is. Literally if you look at the mouth you can see where the mouth looks to be flattened on the side where the ligature is. The sulcus of the chin is especially compromised when setting features on someone without teeth. When viewing the body from the foot end of the table or casket the malformation is seriously noticed.
 | | Needle Injector Gun |
#3 the "Needle Injector" - This is used for a quick hold that in my opinion is just 'OKAY' for a
secure hold. I don't really care for it so much simply because its loud, and it can splash mouth crud up, and the little wires can break easily, and the wires can poke the embalmer through the gloves, and if the head falls off the head positioning device the rivets can pop out, and..., and..., and..., blah blah blah. Did I mention the wires can break? Well, if for any reason you need to get back into the mouth (purge, to clean or whatever) you will need
 | | Needle Injector Wire |
to untwist what has already been twisted, then re-twist what was just untwisted... Get ready for a broken needle injector wire folks. These little guys can only be twisted, untwisted and re-twisted so many times before the get too weak and break. That's really the only downside to these that I can see. I don't see much disfigurement to the features when these are used. I just think they are a pain to work with is all. I do however like to use these wires to clean out my 3" 19 gauge hype needles when feature builder gets clogged.
In the next Newsletter I will go in to detail as to what mouth closures I use to create a natural closure. The techniques will describe mouth closures that do not interfere of the natural expression, allowing manipulations to the face to create the "Smile".
For more information on this technique or if you have a technique that you'd like to share, please send me an email.
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