Do I Need A Custom Chin Implant?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am wondering if I am a candidate for custom chin implant as I want both vertical and lateral projection (as opposed to simply lateral with most implants) Also if I decided to go ahead with a large chin implant would jaw angle implants be needed to add balance?

A: There is now available a type of chin implant that produces a combined vertical and horizontal lengthening to the chin so a custom chin implant may not absolutely be needed. This is a new type of chin implant that provides a vertical length increase to the chin that has never before been part of any chin implant. What size of vertical lengthening chin implant you would need depends on how much of a chin change you were looking for. The largest vertical lengthening chin implant creates a 7mm horizontal advancement with a 7mm vertical lengthening effect, creating a 45 degree angulation to the chin.

If you lengthen the chin to any degree, I would suspect that jaw angle implants would be needed to balance out the new jaw length. That could be confirmed by computer imaging.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana