Can Jaw Implants Eventually Turn Into Bone?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is it possible to make jawline/chin/bone implants for the face permanent? By permanent I am talking about the implant fusing over time and becoming bone. It bothers me that if I have a silicone implant if I hit my jaw hard on something by accident or get punched it may slightly change position.

A:No type of implant material currently used for jaw implants can ever turn into bone over time. In fact no current implant material even has the ability for bone to bond to its undersurface where it contacts the bone. Fortunately those issues are actually irrelevant when it comes to any postoperative concerns about any type of implant material moving with trauma later. Between the early benefits of screw fixation and the more important encapsulation process that happens with scar tissue forming around the implant within the first six weeks of surgery it is impossible for the implant to ever move later. This is well known to surgeons who perform this type of surgery when they have to secondarily reposition or replace an existing implant. The encapsulating scar makes that procedure challenging. It is also important to recognize that most custom jaw implants have large surface area involvement which results and a lot of encapsulating scar over and around the entire implant. Of all the potential issues that one could have about jaw implants long term movement due to trauma is simply not one of them.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon