How Significant is Bone Erosion in Chin Implants?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I read your articles about the chin implants settling into the bone and that bone erosion is a myth.

The fear of a bone erosion is something that prevents me from having an implant.

I read this article in which patient 4 had 7mm “bone erosion”. So, I would to ask you, if that patient has the implant removed, will his chin be 7mm smaller?

A: What I have said is that implant imprinting into the bone is a normal biologic response and has no clinical significance. I have seen thousands of 3D CT scans of chin implants and have never seen imprinting more than 1 to 2mm into the bone. Not to memtion the hundreds of chin implants that I have actually removed and replaced. So I can not speak to the case in which the article refers.

But fears are not overcome by any form of logic. Thus have a sliding genioplasty instead and make that concern irrelevant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon