Is A Chin Implant A Good Alternative To Jaw Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a weak chin making my side profile look really bad. I think its was because of a overbite. I have been wearing braces but I just want to have a good profile. Can I still get a chin implant? I don’t care about my overbite so I’m not thinking of getting jaw surgery. Will a chin implant with wings be a good alternative?

A: If mandibular advancement (orthognathic) surgery is not going to be done and of that you are certain, then attention can be directed to its aesthetic enhancement or camouflage. Chin augmentation can be done successfully using either a chin implant or a sliding genioplasty. Whether a chin implant is best for you depends on how short your chin is. Off-the-shelf chin implants do not exceed 10 to 11ms in horizontal projection so very short chins in men may be inadequately treated by a standard chin implant alone. I would need to see a front and side view picture of you to determine how successful a chin implant would be in your case. These pictures would be used for computer imaging to determine how much increase in chin projection is needed based on measurements and different changes in chin dimensions.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana