Method Of Exam

• Inspect the face. Look for asymmetry at rest, during conversation and when testing various muscles.
• Ask the patient to wrinkle his forehead or raise his eyebrows, enabling you to test the upper face (frontalis).
• Next, have the patient tightly close his eyes. Test the strength of the orbicularis oculi by gently trying to pry open the patient's upper eyelid.
• Instruct him to puff out both cheeks. Check tension by tapping his cheeks with your fingers.
• Have the patient smile broadly and show his teeth, testing the lower face.

Normal:

No facial asymmetry.
Wrinkling of the forehead and smiling are equal and symmetrical.