How Can I Fix My Low Hanging Lip And Gum Show After Chin Implant Removal?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I really appreciate you for trying to help me out at this miserable situation. I had chin implant removal surgery 16 days ago. Dr. took out my Medpore implant from inside my mouth. Fortunately the look of my chin has not changed dramatically but the problem is when I talk you can see my lower gum which is a disaster to me and hurting my confidence badly. I saw my surgeon one week after the surgery and he said I should wait for six weeks, but now after more than two weeks the problem looks getting worse. My question is if this problem gonna improve? if not is there any fixation in the future for this problem or not?

A: What you are experiencing is a soft tissue chin ptosis problem. When implants are removed from an intraoral approach, it is important to resuspend the mentalis muscles and soft tissues of the chin. Remember that they have been stretched out from the implant and then cut through for the removal of the implant. If not tightened and resuspended to the bone, they will both fall and contract downward, exposing increased tooth and gum and even creating lower lip incompetence. I doubt that the tissues will magically move upward as they heal. But I would wait three months after surgery and make a decision then. I suspect you will need a soft tissue/mentalis muscle suspension for correction of this problem.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana